SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL MONOGRAPHS 

Published in conjunction with 

THE SCHOOL REVIEW and THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL 

Vol.1 July, 1917 

No. 3 Whole No. 3 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
SECONDARY- SCHOOL UNITS 



By 
LEONARD V. KOOS 




THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 



Agents 

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Articles and Editorials of The School Review Articles and Editorials of The Elementary 

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THE COURSE 0/ STUDY 

Of the Laboratory Schools of the School 
of Education of the University of Chicago 

HE course of study in schools is in constant process of 
enlargement and improvement. Methods of instruction 
are changing, and the subjects taught in classes must 
be enlarged so as to include all the suggestions that have 
been tried out and found to be of genuine value for the 
education of children. 

For some years past all the members of the faculties of the High School 
and the Elementary School of the University of Chicago have been work- 
ing on the course of study. The results of their labors will appear from 
time to time during the next two years in the School Review, the 
Elementary School Journal, and in Supplementary Educational Mono- 
graphs, edited by the School of Education of the University of Chicago. 

This is not a body of theoretical material; it represents the actual 
practices of departments in these schools. It is not a hastily prepared 
statement of suggestions that are to be tried out. For a period of years 
each department has been revising and re-revising its course of study. 
The work is a democratic product in which all the teachers of these 
schools have participated. 

The course of study will be published in departmental sections. It will 
be subject, as the work of these schools goes forward, to enlargement 
and revision, but in its present form it is believed that it will be 
suggestive to other teachers and school officers. 

Subscription rates have bpeu arranged for the two journals and the 
supplementary monograpHsc.IIf the journals are taken separately, the 
price of subscription is I1V50 each. If the monographs are taken by 
the volume, each volume to be completed in one year and to contain 
approximately one thousand pages, the subscription price will be $5.00 
with an additional cost of 50 cents for postage. A combination of all 
three publications is offered for $6.00 plus 50 cents for postage on the 
monographs. Either one of the journals with one volume of the mono- 
graphs is offered at $5.50 plus 50 cents postage for the monographs. 



SUPPLEMENTARY EDUCATIONAL MONOGRAPHS 

Published in conjunction with 

THE SCHOOL REVIEW and THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL 

Vol.1 July. 1917 

No. 3 Whole No. 3 



THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
SECONDARY- SCHOOL UNITS 



By 
LEONARD V. KOOS 

Associate Professor of Education, University of Washington 




THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS 
CHICAGO. ILLINOIS 



.K6 



Copyright 1917 By 
The University or Chicago 



All Rights Reserved 



Published July 1917 



" ©H! A470350 



Composed and Printed By 

The University of Chicago Press 

ChicasTO, Illinois, U.S.A. 



JUL 20 1917 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTEa PAGE 

I. Introductory: Purpose and Method i 

History of the Committee of the North Central Association of 
Colleges and Secondary Schools on the Reorganization of the 

Secondary School and the Definition of the Unit .... i 

Methods of Definition-Making 3 

1. Definition-Making by Specialists 3 

2. Definition by Syllabus 6 

3. Definition-Making without Adequate Regard for the Facts of 
Practice 10 

4. Definition-Making That Neglects Administrative Aspects . . 12 

State Standardizing Authorities 14 

The Carnegie Foundation Unit . 15 

The Method of This Investigation ......... 16 

II. Foreign Languages 22 

A. Latin 22 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 22 

II. The Offering in Latin 22 

The Time Element 22 

Latin in the Grades of the Elementary School ... 23 

Credit for a Single Year of Latin 24 

When First-Year Latin May Be Taken 24 

III. Organization of the Courses 25 

IV. Methods 26 

V. Aims 27 

, VI. Summary 27 

B. Greek 29 

I. Distribution of the Responses to the Inquiry .... 29 

II. The Offering in Greek 30 

The Time Element 30 

Credit for a Single Year 30 

Where Beginning Greek Appears 30 

III. Organization of the Courses 30 

IV. Methods 31 

V. Aims 31 

VI. Summary ^ 32 

iii 



IV TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER FACE 

C. The Modem Languages . 33 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 33 

II. Extent of the Offering 33 

The Time Element 33 

Modern Languages in the Elementary Grades ... 35 
Credit for a Single Year of Modern Language .... 36 
When Students May Begin the Study of a Modern Lan- 
guage 36 

■4 Special Provision for Students Who Begin a Modern 
Language at Points in the High-School Course Two or 

More Years Apart 37 

III. Methods 39 

IV. Aims 39 

V. Summary 41 

III. Mathematics 43 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 43 

IL Extent of the Offering and Requirement 44 

Extent of the Offering 44 

Years in Which Courses in Mathematics Appear ... 44 

The Time Element 45 

The Requirement in Mathematics 47 

III. Organization of the Courses 48 

IV. Methods 49 

Disposition of the Class Period 49 

T5^es of Method Found Most Satisfactory .... 50 

Special Devices 50 

Historical Notes 51 

Correlation of Algebra and Geometry 51 

Efforts to Meet Current Criticisms of High-School Math- 
ematics 52 

V. Aims and Values 53 

Aims S3 

Extent to Which Aims Are Fulfilled 55 

Discipline vs. Content 55 

VI. Summary 56 

IV. Science 58 

A. Sciences Other than Agriculture 58 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 58 

II. The Offering 59 

Years in Which Science Courses Appear 59 

Range of Years in Which Students May Take the Various 

High-School Sciences 59 

The Time Element . . 61 



TABLE OF CONTENTS V 

CHAPTER FAGE 

III. Organization of the Courses 67 

Deviations from Plans of Texts Used 67 

Organization of the Course in General Science . . . 70-- 

The Course in Biology 70 

IV. Methods 71 

The Place of Practical Illustrations , . 71 

Relating the Sciences to Problems of Environment . . 72 

Field Trips 72 

Distinctive Features 73 

V. Aims and Purposes 75 

The Particular Training the Study of the Sciences Makes 

Possible 76 

Further Aims in General Science 78 

"Other Definite" Aims 78 

VI. Simimary 79 

B. Agriculture 81 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry in Agriculture . 81 

II. The Offering in Agriculture 81 

The Extent of the Offering 81 

Years of Appearance 82 

Time Element 83 

III. Organization and Content of the Courses . ... . 85 

IV. Methods and Equipment 86 

Practical Exercises 86 

Field Trips 87 

Laboratories 88 

The School Plot or Farm 88 

V. Aims 89 

VI. Summary 91 

V. History AND Other Social Studies . . . . . . . . 93 

A. History 93 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 93 

II. The Offering in History 94 

Extent of Offering 94 

Years in Which the Courses Appear . . . , . . 94 - 

Time Element 96 

III. Organization of the Course in American History ... 97 

IV. Methods 99 

How Textbooks Are Used 99 

Collateral Reading 100 

Correlation 103 

Methods and Devices Used to Secure QuaUtative Results 104 



VI TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 



PAGE 



V. Aims 105 

VI. Summary , 106 

B. Civics 107 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry . . , . . 107 

II. The Offering 108 

Years in Which Civics Is Taught 108 

Civics as a Separate Course or as a Part of the Course in 

American History 108 

Time Element 109 

III. Organization of the Course 109 

Proportions of Civic Theory and Practice and of Com- 
munity Civics 109 

IV. Methods 109 

How Textbooks Are Used 109 

Materials Students Are Required to Use no 

Special Methods and Devices . . . .. . . . m 

Co-operation with Local, Civic, Commercial, and Other 

Bodies 112 

V. Aims 112 

VI. Summary 112 

C. Economics 113 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 113 

II. The Offering . 113 

Years in Which Economics Is Taught 113 

Time Element 114 

III. Organization of the Course 115 

The Division of Time between Theory and the Historical 

and Descriptive Aspects of Economics 115 

Programs of Economic Reform 115 

IV. Methods 115 

How Textbooks Are Used 115 

Amount of Required Collateral Reading 116 

Emphasis on Local Economic Problems and Conditions . 116 

V. Aims 116 

VI. Summary 116 

VI. The Vocational Subjects 118 

A. Manual Training and Mechanical Drawing 118 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 118 

II. The Offering and Its Organization 118 

Extent of the Offering in Number of Year-Courses . . 1 18 
Years in Which the Coxirses Appear and Nature of the 

Offering 119 

Time Element 121 



TABLE OF CONTENTS vii 



CHAPTER 



PAGE 



III. Methods 122 

Main Kinds of Activities in Courses in Shopwork . . 122 

Disposition of the Class Period 124 

IV. Aims and Purposes , 125 

The Vocational Aim 125 

V. Summary 126 

B. Home Economics and Household Art 127 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 127 

II. The Offering and Its Organization . 127 

Extent of the Offering 127 

Content of Courses in Home Economics 128 

Content of Courses in Household Art 129 

Time Element 131 

III. Methods 131 

1. Methods in Home Economics 131 

Devices or Methods for Giving Information . . . 131 
Phases of Home Economics Receiving Emphasis in 

Lecture or Recitation 132 

Phases of Home Economics Emphasized in the Labora- 
tory Work 133 

Types of Laboratory Activity 133 

Credit for Home Work in Home Economics . . . 134 

Correlation of Home Economics with Other Subjects 134 

2. Methods in Household Art 135 

Devices and Methods for Giving Information . . . 135 
Phases of Household Art Receiving Emphasis in 

Lecture or Recitation 135 

Phases of Household Art Emphasized in Laboratory 

Work 136 

Types of Problems 136 

Credit for Home Work in Household Art .... 137 

Correlation of Household Art with Other Subjects . 137 

IV. Aims 138 

General Aims 138 

Specific Aims in Home Economics ....... 138 

Specific Aims in Household Art i3p 

V. Summary 140 

C. Commercial Subjects 141 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 141 

II. The Offering 142 

Range of Subjects Offered 142 

Years in Which the Commercial Subjects Are Taught . 143 

Time Element 144 



viii TABLE OF CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

III. Organization and Content of Courses 146 

Commercial Arithmetic 146 

Penmanship 147 

Spelling 147 

Bookkeeping 148 

Typewriting 149 

Business English 149 

Commercial Law 150 

Commercial Geography 150 

IV. Methods . 151 

Efforts to Give Students Actual Business Experience . 151 

Methods in the Several Subjects 152 

V. Aims 154 

General Aims 1 54 

Specific Aims i55 

VI. Summary 156 

Vn. The Fine Arts 159 

A. Art 159 

I. Distribution of the Responses to the Inquiry in Art . . 159 

II. The Offering in Art i59 

Extent of the Offering 159 

Credit Granted for the Work in Art 160 

Content of the Courses 161 

III. Organization 161 

Dependence upon Textbooks 162 

History of Art 162 

IV. Methods 162 

Co-operation with Other Subjects and Other School 

Activities 162 

Co-operation in Civic and Community Problems ... 162 

V. Aims and Results 163 

Special Aims in Freehand Drawing and Design . . . 163 

Concrete Results Expected and Influences Noted . . . 163 

VI. Summary 163 

B. Music 164 

I. Distribution of Responses to the Inquiry 164 

II. The Offering 165 

1. Academic Music 165 

2. Chorus Singing 165 

3. Special Organizations 166 

4. Instruction in Voice, Violin, and Piano 167 

5. Credit for Music 167 

III. Aims 168 

IV. Summary 169 



TABLE OF CONTENTS ix 

CHAPTER p^^g 

VIII. Public Speaking j^o 

I. Distribution of the Responses to the Inquiry in Public 

Speaking jyo 

II. The Offering and Its Organization 170 

As a Part of the Offering in English 170 

As Separate Courses 171 

III. Methods 172 

Activities with Which Class Work in PubUc Speaking Is 

Related 172 

IV. Aims j-2 

IX. Some General Administrative Aspects 173 

The Time Factor . . . / 17, 

Distinctions between Elementary and Advanced Work . . . 178 

The Function of Textbooks 181 

The Interrelation of Subjects 182 

The Touch with Life 184 

Certain Additional Points of Incompleteness of the Investigation 

upon Which This Study Is Based 187 

Index ,80 



CHAPTER I 
INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 

The following chapters present, largely from the point of view 
of the educational administrator, the results of an investigation 
into the status of the teaching of almost all subjects appearing in 
the secondary-school programs of study. It constitutes a digest 
and interpretation of facts gathered for the use of the Committee on 
Reorganization of the Secondary School and the Definition of the 
Unit of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary 
Schools. 

To make the significance of the facts and their interpretation 
more apparent than might otherwise be the case, it is advisable to 
rehearse here very briefly the history of this committee and to state 
the relation of its modus operandi, about to be described, to that of 
bodies and agencies that have previously had to do with the defini- 
tion of units. 

On motion of the North Central Association at its meeting in 
March, 19 13, the president appointed a Committee on the Revision 
of the Definition of the Unit and to Investigate ^he Practice of 
Colleges in the Admittance of Students with Conditions. This 
committee presented at the next annual meeting of the Association, 
in March, 19 14, an extended report^ in two parts, that part dealing 
with definitions of the unit suggesting, among other things, the 
desirabihty of providing in such definitions distinctions between 
elementary, intermediate, and advanced work. At the conclusion 
of the report the chairman presented for the committee a set of 
resolutions,^ from which the following excerpts are made: 

^ Resolved, That it is the sense of this body that a revision is desirable of the 

unit definition of secondary subjects now in use 

That the unit definition should discriminate between elementary and 
advanced units, the former term to apply to the work of the first two years 

' Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Meeting of the North Central Association 
of Colleges and Secondary Schools, 1914, pp. 101-17. 
'Ibid., pp. 1 1 7-18. 



2 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

and the latter to that of the last two years of the present usual four years' 
secondary-school course 

Resolved, That a committee of at least seven members be appointed by the 
President of the Association .... to provide for the general revision of unit 
definition for secondary-school work. 

That this committee shall be authorized to co-operate with the general 
committee in the preparation of imit definitions 

The resolutions were adopted and a Committee on the Revision 
of the Definition of the Unit, composed of eight members, was 
appointed. This committee, at the meeting of the Association in 
March, 1915, presented a report^ which was, however, not in the 
nature of a revision of definitions, but a statement of the recog- 
nition of the relations of definition-making to the reorganization 
of elementary and secondary education. Upon this problem of 
reorganization another committee of the Association — namely, the 
Committee on the Reorganization of the American High School — 
presented a report at the same meeting. In consequence of the 
intimate relations of these two problems the two committees were 
constituted a single Committee on the Reorganization of the 
Secondary School and the Definition of the Unit and were instructed 
to make, before the next annual meeting, a report in print to the 
members of the Association. The method pursued in the prepara- 
tion of this report will be described after there has been set down at 
this point a characterization of the method of definition-making 
heretofore used by standardizing bodies and agencies. Those 
standardizing bodies and agencies from whose activities illustrations 
of the method used will be drawn are the Committee of Ten of the 
National Education Association, which was the first body to 
attempt standardization on a very large scale, the College Entrance 
Examination Board, the North Central Association of Colleges and 
Secondary Schools, the Commission of the National Education 
Association on the Reorganization of Secondary Education, and a 
few institutions of higher learning. The institutions of higher 
learning that have been selected to represent the sort of definition- 
making attempted by these institutions as a whole are Harvard 

^ Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the North Central Association of 
Colleges and Secondary Schools, 1915, pp. 27-30. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 3 

University, Yale University, and the University of Illinois. As 
the New England College Entrance Certificate Board uses the 
definitions framed by the College Entrance Examination Board, 
and as the Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools of the 
Southern States uses for the most part those of the North Central 
Association, there will be no need of making further reference to 
them. The Association of Colleges and Preparatory Schools of 
the Middle States and Maryland has not undertaken the task of 
definition-making and will therefore be omitted in subsequent 
discussion. At a later point in this chapter brief reference will 
be made to the activities in this line of state authorities, such as 
the Regents of the State of New York and the Carnegie Foundation 
for the Advancement of Teaching. 

The essential features of the method of definition-making as 
usually employed may be said to be, on the positive side, (i) the 
delegation of the task of framing definitions in particular subjects 
to committees of specialists in those subjects, and (2) dependence, 
sometimes almost exclusively, upon syllabi of content to be covered 
in the courses. On the negative side this method is characterized 
by (3) too Httle regard for the facts of practice in the schools, and 
(4) neglect of administrative considerations vital to the definition 
of the unit. As will be seen, it is not assumed that all these char- 
acteristics apply in all efforts at definition-making heretofore made; 
the writer contends merely that they are essentially true of each 
effort or that most of them apply to any one instance of definition- 
making. 

METHODS OP DEriNITION-MAKING 

I. Definition-making by specialists. ^To show that the first 
feature just named is characteristic, it will, for the most part, be 
necessary only to refer the reader to, or make brief quotations from, 
publications of the bodies and agencies we have named. The 
original conference that resulted in the provision for, and the 
appointment of, the Committee of Ten presented as the first of 
three resolutions the following: ''That it is expedient to hold a 
conference of school and college teachers of each principal subject 
which enters into the programmes of secondary schools in the 



4 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

United States "^ Nine "conferences," or subcommittees, 

of ten members each were finally appointed to deal with the follow- 
ing subjects or groups of subjects :^ (i) Latin, (2) Greek, (3) Eng- 
lish, (4) other modern languages, (5) mathematics, (6) physics, 
astronomy, and chemistry, (7) natural history (biology, including 
botany, zoology, and physiology), (8) history, civil government, 
and political economy, and (9) geography (physical geography, 
geology, and meteorology). A glance through the lists of names 
in these various conferences will leave no doubt as to their being 
constituted of specialists in the respective fields. 

The College Entrance Examination Board also has followed 
this practice. Under the head of history in its manual, Document 
No. 68, 1914, we find this note: "The requirements in history are 
based on the recommendations of the Committee of Seven of the 
American Historical Association ";3 under Latin: "The following 
requirements in Latin are in accordance with the recommendations 
made to the American Philological Association by the Commission 
on College Entrance Requirements in Latin, October, i909";4 
under French: "The requirements in French follow the recom- 
mendations of the Committee of Twelve of the Modern Language 
Association of America ";s under mathematics: "The present 
definition of the requirements in mathematics is in accordance 
with the recommendations made in September, 1903, by a com- 
mittee of the American Mathematical Association,"^ etc. The 
statements made in connection with all the subjects listed in this 
document are similar to those quoted. 

That essentially the same practice of delegating the task of 
definition-making to bodies of speciaUsts obtained in the North 
Central Association may be seen in the definitions published in 
its Proceedings^ in 1910. On page 77 will be found the personnel 

' Report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary-School Studies (American Book Co., 
1894), p. 3. 

'Ibid., pp. s, 8-11. 

3 College Entrance Examination Board, Document No. 68, 1914, p. 20. 

*Ibid., p. 21. s Ibid., p. 25. ^ Ibid., p. 23. 

1 Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the North Central Association of 
Colleges and Secondary Schools, 1910. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 5 

of the Committee on English, constituted of eighteen members, 
thirteen of whom are speciaHsts in this field, and five, adminis- 
trators; on page 83 is listed the Committee on Mathematics, 
proportionately similarly constituted; and so on through the 
committees for the remaining subjects. 

The Commission of the National Education Association on the 
Reorganization of Secondary Education is constituted of fourteen 
committees, twelve of which have to do with various high-school 
subjects/ Ten of these committees were organized by 19 13 as 
follows: those dealing with English, social studies, natural sciences, 
ancient languages, modern languages, household arts, manual 
arts, music, business, and agriculture. These are made up wholly of 
specialists.^ 

There is little direct evidence that specialists have had to do with 
the framing of definitions appearing in university catalogues; 
that is to say, we find practically no references to committees or 
individuals who have prepared the statements for these catalogues. 
Nevertheless, we are probably justified in assuming that these 
statements concerning subjects for admission have in most instances 
been prepared by members of the faculty in whose provinces the 
subjects with which they deal would seem appropriately to Ue, 
that is, the statement concerning admission requirements in Latin 
would be made by the department of Latin, that in mathematics 
by the department of mathematics, etc. The "High-School 
Manual "3 issued by the University of Illinois gives evidence of a 
practice somewhat at variance with this, although still resorting 
largely to the action of committees of specialists. For instance, 
the description of the work in agriculture'* begins with a very brief 
characterization of the course which conforms to that appearing in 
the catalogue of the university ,s but contains in addition an 
extended "outline of the work" prepared by the Agricultural Section 

^ U.S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1913, No. 41, p. 8. 
'Ibid., pp. 16, 27-28, 29, 40, 58, 62, 66, 75, and 78. 

3 " High-School Manual, Standards and General Recommendations for Accrediting 
of High Schools," University of Illinois Bulletin, Vol. XII, No. 43 (June 28, 1915). ■ 

^Ibid.,pp. is-17. 

5 University of Illinois, Annual Register, 1914-15, p. 85, 



6 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

of the High-School Conference held at the University of Illinois, 
November 28, 1908. Such outlines or syllabi authorized in a 
similar manner are given in this manual for almost all the courses 
listed in it, 

2. Definition by syllabus, — ^An examination of the statements 
concerning subjects prepared by the standardizing bodies and 
agencies to which reference has been made will convince the reader 
that those who have had to do with definition-making have fre- 
quently been content with the mere framing of syllabi. It is not to 
be denied, however, that there are exceptions. The main con- 
tention here is that the framers have too frequently seemed to be 
concerned with little else. 

The Committee of Ten specifically directed^ the conferences to 
make a report on the topics or parts of the subject that might 
reasonably be covered during the "whole course" or during the last 
four of the eighteen years of the elementary- and secondary-school 
period, but it requested, in addition, statements concerning places 
of appearance, time to be devoted to the work, relation of the work 
to the question of college entrance, methods of teaching, and the 
"best modes of testing attainments." The reports and recom- 
mendations of the conferences have usually given some attention 
to all the matters in this list, but an examination of the reports 
as a whole indicates that the problems of content and details of 
method in dealing with the content, especially the former, have, 
in general, been given most attention. For instance, 10 of the 16 
pages of the report of the conference in Latin^ are devoted to con- 
tent and method; a still larger proportion of the report of the 
conference in Greek^ is devoted to these topics; the reports in 
physics and chemistry are accompanied by extended lists of experi- 
ments to be performed ;"* courses in natural history are carefully 
outlined,^ etc. Some of the reports are not so readily analyzable 
into extent of answer to the several queries put by the committee, 
but examination of them will show how prominent the questions 

* Report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary-School Studies (American Book Co., 
1894), p. 6. 

'Ibid., 1894, pp. 60-75. *Ibid., pp. 124-37. 

3 Ibid., pp. 76-85. s Ibid., pp. 145-58. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 7 

of content and details of method were in the minds of the members 
of the conferences. 

The College Entrance Examination Board has made almost 
exclusive use of the syllabus method, which Usts the content and 
sometimes makes reference to some aspects of method. The 
definition in English,* which follows the recommendations of the 
National Conference on Uniform Entrance Requirements in 
English, besides briefly stating the aims of the work, outlines both 
the work to be covered in composition and the literary selections to 
be read and studied. The definitions in history^ consist merely 
in the divisions of the field to be covered as suggested by the names 
of the courses Usted. The definitions in French^ and German'' 
include, besides the statement of "work to be done," a statement of 
aim. The definitions in mathematics' are mere syllabi. The 
definition in physics^ offers a preliminary statement as to the mode 
of class instruction and is then given over to lists of topics and 
experiments extending through six pages. Other definitions of 
the College Entrance Examination Board conform in organization to 
those here referred to. 

The North Central Association, although following the syllabus 
method of definition, has not done so as closely as has the College 
Entrance Examination Board. The definitions in English,' as in the 
case of the latter institution, are those of the National Conference 
on Uniform Entrance Requirements in English. The definitions in 
mathematics® include, besides description of content, a statement of 
aims and some reference to method. The definitions in history' 
contain, in addition to the statement as to content, some reference 
to method, preparation of the teacher, collateral reading, and 
classroom equipment. The definitions of Latin*** and Greek" bear 
exclusively on content. The definition in zoology" outlines the 

' Document No. 68, 1914, pp. 13-17. * Ibid., pp. 28-31. 

' Ibid., p. 20. s Ibid., pp. 33-35. 

3 Ibid., pp. 25-28. 6 Ibid., pp. 35-43. 
7 Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the North Central Association of 
Colleges and Secondary Schools, 1910, pp. 78-82. 
^ Ibid., pp. 84-87. 

9 Ibid., pp. 89-91. " Ibid., p. 94. 

" Ibid., p. 93. " Ibid., pp. 125-32. 



8 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

content of the course, gives its aims, and deals somewhat with 
method and equipment. The definitions here referred to typify 
those in other subjects and will be seen to have as their one constant 
constituent a statement of content. 

The final results of the work of the Commission of the National 
Education Association on the Reorganization of Secondary Educa- 
tion have not yet been published, but this commission entertained 
the hope that the subcommittees would "formulate statements of 
the valid aims, efficient methods, and kinds of material whereby 
each subject may best serve the needs of high-school pupils."^ If 
this hope is being realized, the descriptions of courses will not be 
limited to mere lists of topics to be covered in given courses. 

The universities in general have followed the syllabus method 
in their descriptions of subjects of study required for admission. 
These have been and still are in many university catalogues very 
brief, but their brevity does not prevent the statement of the con- 
tent of the courses, although it does seem to forbid the inclusion of 
other aspects of course description. This is probably due to the 
fact that originally the universal mode of admission was via the 
entrance examination and that a definite statement of content 
would be the best sort of clue to the line of preparation for the 
examination to be followed by the student. The Harvard Uni- 
versity Catalogue for 1881-82 contains the following statement as to 
what should be included in the student's preparation in Latin, a 
statement essentially typical for the other prescribed subjects 
listed, viz., Greek, ancient history, mathematics, physics, Eftglish 
composition, and French or German: 

I, 2. Latin, (i) Caesar, Gallic War, Books I-IV (or Books I-III and 
Sallust's Catiline), with questions on the subject-matter and on construction 
and grammatical forms. Virgil, Aeneid I-IV (or Eclogues, and Aeneid I-V), 
with questions on the subject-matter and on prosody; (2) the translation at 
sight of average passages of Caesar, with general questions on grammar, his- 
tory, and antiquities suggested by the passages set. Translation into Latin 
of simple English sentences, to test the candidate's practical knowledge of 
grammar.* 

^ U.S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1913, No. 41, p. 8. 
'Harvard University Catalogue, 1881-82, p. 64. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 9 

Examination of the statements contained in a recent Harvard 
catalogue concerning subjects in which examinations are held dis- 
covers that for EngUsh^ they are identical with those already 
reported above as used by the College Entrance Examination 
Board and the North Central Association and as recommended 
by the National Conference on Uniform Entrance Requirements 
in English. This is accompanied by a statement of the nature of 
the entrance examination given in English. Almost all other 
statements* concerning subjects describe the nature of the examina- 
tion to be given in them, thus expressing definitely or implying in at 
least a rough way what the content of the courses preparing for the 
examinations should be. For example, the examination in ad- 
vanced Greek is reported to consist of "(a) The translation at 
sight of Homer, with questions designed to test the candidate's 
understanding of the passages set, and questions on ordinary 
forms, constructions, and idioms, and on prosody. There will also 

be questions oh Homeric poems and Homeric life (To) The 

translation into Attic prose of a short passage of connected English 

narrative "^ Then follows a statement of the amount of 

class and reading work the examination presupposes, as well as a 
brief description of the methods of teaching recommended. In 
the statements as to some of the subjects, viz., geography, botany, 
zoology, drawing, and shopwork, reference is made to "Outhnes of 
Requirements" published by the imiversity, to which courses in 
secondary schools preparing students for entrance should be equiva- 
lent.4 

The same method of describing content is also generally char- 
acteristic in catalogues of Yale University, as may be seen by an 
examination of the "Detailed Statement of Subjects" in a recent 
issue.5 It was true also when the only subjects listed were Latin, 
Greek, mathematics, and French or German,*^ and when the 

' Harvard University Catalogue, 1914-15, pp. 480-83. 

* Ihid., pp. 484-501. 
^Ibid., p. 485. 

*Ibid., 1914-15, PP- 499, Soo, 501. 

^Bulletin of Yale University, General Catalogue, 1914-15, Eleventh Series, No. 5 
(February, 1915), pp. 81-96. 

* Catalogue of Yale University, 1886-87, P- 27. 



lo ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

description of that of which the examination in Latin would consist 
was as follows: 

1. Latin Grammar. 

2. Caesar — Gallic War, books i-iii. 

3. Cicero — Orations, against Catiline and for Archias. 

4. Vergil — Bucolics, and first six books of the Aeneid, including Prosody. 

5. Ovid — Metamorphoses, translation at sight. 

6. The translation, at sight, of passages from prose Latin. 

7. The translation into Latin of connected passages of English prose 

8. Roman History: Cteighton's Primer of Roman History is suggested as a, 
basis for instruction. 

The "Description of Subjects Accepted for Admission" by the 
University of Illinois^ is for the most part very brief for each of the 
subjects, and frequently, as in the case of algebra,'' is a list of main 
topics, although in some instances this method has not been used. 
Nevertheless, when these descriptions are reproduced in the uni- 
versity's "High-School Manual,"^ they are accompanied, as has 
already been pointed out, by extended syllabi. An older catalogue'' 
of this institution made use of a very brief variation of the syllabus 
method of description; it merely made reference to what was con- 
sidered a standard text in a subject, as, e.g., "Physics. — The 
elements of physics as given in Gage's Introduction to Physical 
Science, taught with the use of apparatus for illustration and 
experiment, "s 

3. Definition-making without adequate regard for the facts of 
practice. — The definition-making has heretofore had too little 
regard for the facts of practice; that is to say, relatively few 
extended investigations into contemporaneous practice have been 
used as bases of the definitions. Of course it is not to be denied 
that bodies of speciaUsts drawn from wide areas would be acquainted 
to a considerable extent with the facts; it is merely contended that 
a thoroughgoing investigation would throw more light on the 
status of the teaching of any given subject than would the informa- 

' Catalogue of the University of Illinois, 1892-93, pp. 85-91. 
' Ibid., p, 85. 

3 University of Illinois Bulletin, Vol. XII, No. 43 (June 28, 1915). 
* Catalogue of the University of Illinois, 1892-93, pp. 150-52. 
sibid., p. 152. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD ii 

tion possessed by the usual body of specialists in that subject. 
Moreover, the facts in the possession of these specialists as a 
result of their experience are not always of a sort available for use 
in definition-making, especially when this is of the administrative 
sort. 

The report of the Committee of Ten does not indicate that the 
conferences acting as subcommittees on the various subjects 
and subject-groups, with the exception of that dealing with history, 
civil government, and political economy, made investigations into 
the teaching of the work in their respective fields. It is probable 
that some such investigations were made. It is apparent from 
the report of this conference' that it had carried on, before making 
the report, a rather far-reaching investigation. We know from the 
various references in parts of its report^* that the Committee of 
Seven of the American Historical Association had made extended 
inquiry into the practices of the teaching of history. The Com- 
mittee of Twelve of the American Philological Association^ had 
before it in framing definitions now no longer in use the facts of 
practice as to the teaching of Latin and Greek in the secondary 
schools of the United States. These are the only two committees 
which have had to do with efforts at definition-making for the 
College Entrance Examination Board concerning which we have 
direct evidence of the making of investigations. This, however, is 
not to deny that such investigations have been made by more 
committees than we have here indicated. We only point out that 
it was not the usual practice. There is no evidence that the com- 
mittees framing the definitions for the North Central Association 
have had access to facts of practice brought out as a result of 
investigations. One of the recommendations made by the Com- 
mittee on the Articulation of the High School and College (the 
predecessor of the Commission of the National Education Associa- 
tion on the Reorganization of Secondary Education), after first 
recommending the appointment of subcommittees of specialists, 

' Report of the Committee of Ten on Secondary-School Studies, 1894, pp. 162-203. 
» Report of the Committee of Seven of the American Historical Association, 1899. 
^Proceedings of the Thirty-first Annual Session of the American Philological 
Association, 1899, Appendix, pp. xcvii ff. 



12 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

was to the effect "that each committee collect from a limited num- 
ber of well-organized, large, and small high schools in various parts 
of the United States material on its own subjects under the general 
headings: Survey of work now conducted, Recommendations for 
modification, Suggestions for experiments.""^ The preliminary 
statement of the subcommittees,^ with the exception of the Com- 
mittee on English, do not indicate that they were planning to 
carry on investigations into the status of the teaching of the 
subjects delegated to them. The Committee on English proposed 
' " to make a fresh study of English in secondary schools "^ and did so."* 
It goes without saying that the definitions appearing in university 
catalogues have not been made after investigations into the facts 
of practice. 

Of course, as has already been said, one would not be warranted 
in coming to the sweeping conclusion that, because one finds no 
direct or indirect evidence that such investigations as we have in 
mind here have been carried on, they were, therefore, always 
absent. Definitions do not customarily make reference to such 
investigations, even when they have been undertaken and their 
results utilized. But, certainly, reports of committees would make 
reference to them, and the almost total absence of such references in 
the reading that the preparation for this study has necessitated 
warrants the conclusion that such preliminary investigations have 
been relatively infrequent. 

4. Definition-making that neglects administrative aspects. — ^It 
would be but natural that definitions framed by specialists in the 
subjects defined and that conform in most cases to the syllabus 
t5rpe would neglect certain vital administrative aspects. 

It was shown under 2, above, that the conferences co-operating 
with the Committee of Ten were asked to include in their reports, 
in addition to recommendations as to topics or subjects, recom- 
mendations as to places of appearance, time to be devoted to the 

' Proceedings of the National Education Association, 191 2 , p. 668. 
" U.S. Bureau of Education Bulletin, 1913, No. 41. 

3 Ibid., p. 10. 

4 "Types of Organization of High-School English," English Journal, II (1913), 
575-96. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 13 

work, relation of the work to college entrance, methods of teaching, 
and the "best modes of testing attainments." Some of these are 
seen to be in whole or in part administrative in character, and, in 
so far as they are, to free these conferences of the charge of having 
totally neglected administrative considerations. 

We also saw that the syllabus method is so extensively used 
in the definitions of the College Entrance Examination Board 
that attention is given to little else: the definition in EngHsh con- 
tains only, besides the discussion of content, a brief statement of 
aims; the definitions in history list merely the fields to be covered; 
those in French and German add to the ''work to be done" a 
statement of aims; the definitions in mathematics contain nothing 
in addition to syllabi; the definition in physics contains, in addition 
to the syllabus, a statement of the mode of class instruction. As 
these definitions were selected as being fairly representative, 
obviously we may conclude that they have had small regard for 
vital administrative considerations. 

North Central definitions have had more regard for such 
considerations, but attention to them has been inconstant and 
scattering. The definition in English is identical with that used by 
the College Entrance Examination Board, as has already been 
said; the definitions in mathematics have been seen to include refer- 
ence to aims and method, both of some administrative significance; 
likewise the definitions in history have been seen to give some 
attention to the questions of method, preparation of the teacher, 
collateral reading, and classroom equipment, most of these aspects 
being clearly of an administrative nature; definitions in Latin and 
Greek omit all reference to anything but content. The definition 
in zoology, although given over largely to the problem of content, 
does touch upon aims, method, and equipment; and so on with 
other definitions, which those referred to may be understood to 
typify. 

To what aspects of definitions the subcommittees of the Com- 
mission of the National Education Association on the Reorganiza- 
tion of Secondary Education have turned their attention may be 
inferred from what has been said of the hope it entertains that 
these subcommittees would "formulate statements of valid aims, 



14 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY SCHOOL UNITS 

efficient methods, and kinds of material whereby each subject may 
best serve the needs of high-school pupils." These subcommittees 
have thus had pointed out to them the desirability of including 
statements concerning at least two matters of administrative 
importance, but the writer cannot concede that these are adequate 
for purposes of definition. 

Descriptions of courses to be accepted for admission credit, as 
these descriptions appear in university catalogues, also have been 
neglectful of administrative characteristics. The Harvard state- 
ment concerning English has been seen to coincide with that 
recommended by the National Conference on Uniform Entrance 
Requirements in English, and thus contains, in addition to the dis- 
cussion of content, a very brief statement of aims. The statement 
concerning the nature of the entrance examination in Greek is 
followed, as has already been pointed out, by an additional state- 
ment as to the amount of class and reading work that is presup- 
posed by the examination, as well as a brief description of the 
methods of teaching recommended. Both of these additional 
aspects may be seen to have administrative significance. The 
statements as to other subjects in the Harvard catalogue contain 
nothing of greater administrative importance than these and more 
commonly do not contain as much. As the descriptions of units of 
other universities have been found to vary in no great extent 
from the simple statement of content, it will not be necessary here 
to illustrate them to prove that they have given scant attention to 
administrative characteristics of the subjects. 

STATE STANDARDIZING AUTHORITIES 

Because of the limited area over which they are operative, little 
reference need here be made to efforts at definition-making by state 
authorities. Here may be included state adoptions of textbooks, 
since, if schools may use no other texts than those authorized, the 
content of the course is determined by the text adopted. More 
clearly in line with the work of definition-making are the syllabi of 
courses prepared by some state authorities and imposed by them 
more or less imperatively upon the public high schools of the 
commonwealth. An illustration of this manner of describing 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 15 

courses may be seen in the Regents' requirements in New York as 
published in the "Syllabus for Secondary Schools," 1910/ The 
manner of course description is here, as is implied in the title, largely 
that of outlining the content, although other matters, particularly 
those concerning methods, come in for attention. Thus, the 
descriptions of courses in Mathematics^ are nothing if not mere 
syllabi. After brief reference to method covering a half page 
the description of the course in Physics^ names topics and describes 
experiments through 24 pages. The description of the course in 
Chemistry* is similarly constituted. An examination of the 
statements in this manual of 492 pages concerning other subjects 
will be found with few exceptions to conform to those already 
referred to. 

THE CARNEGIE FOUNDATION UNIT 

One other effort at defining the unit merits attention here, 
namely, that of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of 
Teaching. It is as follows i^ 

A unit represents a year's study in any subject in a secondary school, 
constituting approximately a quarter of a full year's work. 

(This statement is designed to afford a standard of measurement for the 
work done in secondary schools. It takes the four-year high-school course as a 
basis and assumes that the length of the school year is from thirty-six to forty 
weeks, that a period is from forty to sixty minutes in length, and that the study 
is pursued for four or five periods a week; but, under ordinary circumstances, a 
satisfactory year's work in any subject cannot be accomplished in less than 
one hundred and twenty sixty-minute hours, or their equivalent. Schools 
organized on a different basis can nevertheless estimate their work in terms of 
this unit.) 

This definition was proposed at a conference of representatives 
of the National Conference Committee on Standards of Colleges and 
Secondary Schools with the officers of the Carnegie Foundation. 

' University of the State of New York Bulletin, No. 607 (January 15, 1916). 

'Ibid., pp. 63-89. 

^Ibid., pp. 91-115. 

'^Ibid., pp. 116-39. 

s Fourth Annual Report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 
1909, pp. 132-33. 



i6 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

Because of the danger to the education of youth of placing too great 
faith in a simple quantitative unit of this kind, a few brief quotations 
from the report of the president of the Foundation with reference 
to it will not be out of place. He says, "It is simply an effort to 
find a ' counter ' for the very relation between the secondary school 
and the college which the tendencies of the last twenty-five years 
have been engaged in formulating,"^ and again, "The function 
of this unit is simply to recognize a well-ordered high-school course. 
It does not touch essentially pedagogic problems, and it leaves 
full leeway in the matter of organization and arrangement."^ 
When in this connection it is remembered that the Foundation was 
at this time in need of a definite and simple quantitative definition 
of the unit in its effort to standardize institutions of higher learning 
in part by the extent of their entrance requirements,^ the inadequacy 
of such a unit for larger educational purposes is too obvious to need 
further exposition. 

THE METHOD OP THIS INVESTIGATION 

The method of attack on the problem of definition-making used 
by the Committee of the North Central Association on the Re- 
organization of the Secondary School and the Definition of the 
Unit — the method now to be described — departs from the former 
methods whose characterization has occupied the main body 
of the present chapter up to this point in four important 
respects, corresponding seriatim to the four features of the former 
procedure. In the first place, the committee appointed no aux- 
iliary subcommittees of specialists to frame the definitions, al- 
though its predecessor, the Committee on the Definition of the 
Unit and to Investigate the Practice of Colleges in the Admit- 
tance of Students with Conditions, had asked to be empowered 
to do so. Nor, in the second place, has this mode of definition- 
making followed the older practice of preparing syllabi. It is not 
to be understood that the committee as a whole would not approve 
of the preparation of such syllabi by specialists. The writer does 

^ Fourth Annual Report of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, 
1909, p. 131. 

' Ibid., p. 133. ^ Ibid., p. 134-60. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 17 

not presume to speak for it in this respect. It is conceivable that 
an adequate definition may have to give consideration in part 
to syllabi— syllabi that are suggestive rather than imperative, 
and that offer a sufficiently wide range of topics and elasticity of 
order to make possible all necessary adaptation to important local 
conditions. The fact, however, that the committee has not fol- 
lowed the older practice, but has, instead, attacked the problem 
of definition-making at a point essentially different, is of great 
significance. In the third place, as will be seen, the committee did 
not begin the work of actually framing definitions until it had 
secured a substantial body of facts as to the practices obtaining in 
the teaching of subjects to be defined in the secondary schools on the 
accredited lists of the Association. Lastly, the facts gathered are 
largely administrative in character. The strongest argument that 
can be presented in support of the administrative definition of units 
is the body of facts appearing in subsequent chapters, and for this 
reason it is deemed unnecessary to say anything here on behalf 
of this feature of the method. 

In September, 191 5, a circular letter was sent out to the princi- 
pals of all the 1,047 secondary schools then on the accredited list 
of the North Central Association, requesting them to mail to the 
office of the committee the names and addresses of, and the subjects 
taught by, those of their heads of departments or teachers whom 
they considered to be "constructively interested in the development 
of effective courses of study and markedly successful in carrying 
their plans to realization," and who would be "willing to co-operate 
with the committee in its efforts to define the unit." A total of 506, 
or slightly less than half the principals, suppHed such lists promptly 
enough to be of use in the investigation. The teachers and heads 
of departments on these lists, when classified by subjects taught, 
totaled 2,949. During October, November, and December, 3,717 
questionnaires inquiring into the status of the teaching of the 
following several secondary-school subjects were addressed to these 
teachers: Latm, Greek, modern languages (German, French, 
Spanish), mathematics (elementary algebra, plane geometry, 
advanced algebra, solid geometry, and trigonometry), science 
(physiography, botany, zoology, biology, physiology, chemistry, 



i8 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

and physics), general science, agriculture, history (ancient, mediae- 
val and modern, English, and American), civics, economics, 
manual training, home economics and household art, commercial 
subjects, art, music, and public speaking. It is to be noted that 
the questionnaires for the modern languages, mathematics, science 
(except for general science and agriculture, for which special 
questionnaires were prepared), and history were of the "blanket" 
type — that is, were so framed that they might be used for any 
of the special divisions of the subject. No investigation was made 
into the status of the teaching of English, normal-training subjects, 
or physical training. For its definitions in English the committee 
already had available a good statement of the facts of practice in a 
report of a committee of the National Council of Teachers of 
English.^ 

The disparity between the total number of teachers and the 
number of questionnaires sent out is in great part to be accounted 
for by the fact that to a number of teachers reported as teachers of 
"modern language," "mathematics," "science," and "history" 
two of the blanket questionnaires were sent in order to make it 
possible for them to report for more than one division of the subjects, 
in case they were teaching more than one. 

The total number of responses to these questionnaires received 
in time to be incorporated in this study was 1,570. These 1,570 
responses have come from 416 different schools distributed by states, 
as shown in Table I. The number of schools from which responses 
to the questionnaires have been received in the respective states 
is roughly proportional to the number of accredited schools in 
these states, as may be seen by a comparison of these figures 
with the lists of schools by states to be found on pages 63-79 
of the Proceedings of the Twentieth Annual Meeting of the North 
Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools (1915), the 
lists used in this investigation. This justifies the conclusion 
that the facts of practice presented in this study are at least 
fairly numerically representative of the schools of the various 
states. 

^ "Types of Organization of High-School English," English Journal, II (1913), 
575-96. 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 19 

The distribution of the 1,570 responses by subjects to the 
questionnaires is shown in Table II. A glance at this table shows 
the wide variation in the number of replies received in the several 
subjects. As these, however, are roughly proportional to the 
numbers of teachers and heads of departments whose names 
were submitted by the principals, the small number of responses 
in some subjects and the large number in others are not to be 
attributed to the greater readiness to respond of teachers in the 

TABLE I 

Distribution by States of the 416 Schools from 

Which Responses to Questionnaires in the 

Various Subjects Have Been Received 

e^ ^ Number of 

State Schools 

Colorado 14 

Illinois 74 

Indiana 55 

Iowa 24 

Kansas 26 

Michigan 43 

Minnesota 29 

Missouri 24 

Montana o 

Nebraska 18 

North Dakota. n 

Ohio 49 

Oklahoma 7 

South Dakota 13 

Wisconsin 40 

Total 416 

latter than in those of the former, but must be explained by other 
causes. Some examples in point are the following: Greek has a 
smaller representation than Latin because the former has been 
dropped from practically all high-school programs of study; 
French does not have as strong a holding in North Central high 
schools as does German ; physiology does not very frequently appear 
in high-school programs of study and, when it does appear, is 
frequently delegated to some teacher not especially prepared to 
teach the subject who chances not to have a full teaching program. 



20 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

Other explanations might be offered, but those already given will 
suffice for illustration. 

The particular method used in gathering the facts of practice for 
this study and the proportion of responses suggest the conclusion 

TABLE II 

Distribution by Subjects of the 1,570 Responses to 
THE Questionnaires in the Various Subjects 

Number of 
Subject Responses 

Latin 105 

Greek 7 

German 161 

French 29 

Spanish 10 

Elementary algebra 112 

Plane geometry 122 

Advanced algebra 37 

Solid geometry 10 

Trigonometry 11 

General science 19 

Physiography 23 

Botany 27 

Zoology 16 

Biology 17 

Physiology , 5 

Chemistry 94 

Physics 113 

Agriculture 49 

Ancient history 71 

Mediaeval and modern history 52 

English history 17 

American history 104 

Civics 29 

Economics 40 

Manual training 100 

Home economics and household art 63 

Commercial subjects 74 

Art 19 

Music 27 

Public speaking 7 

Total 1,570 

that the reports of the practices here given constitute in general 
composite photographs of the practices of the best teachers in the 
best secondary schools on the accredited list of the Association. 
However, this cannot be considered the universal rule, and the 



INTRODUCTORY: PURPOSE AND METHOD 21 

writer does not presume to state that all of the best schools have 
made response nor to deny that many of the weaker schools are 
represented. But, roughly speaking, those principals who are 
most forward-looking would be most likely to respond to the circular 
letter sent out to them, and this would especially apply in this 
instance because, in the same letter, was a request that these prin- 
cipals make a brief statement to accompany the list of teachers as 
to what had been done toward the reorganization of the secondary 
schools of their communities through such changes as the institution 
of the six-and-six plan, the establishment of the junior and senior 
high schools, etc. In the next place, as has been already stated, 
they were asked to name those of their heads of departments or 
teachers whom they consider to be constructively interested in the 
development of effective courses of study and markedly successful 
in carrying their plans to realization. Finally — and, again, roughly 
speaking — the teachers who responded to the questionnaires are the 
most alert and progressive of those to whom the inquiries were 
addressed. 

The purpose and method of the investigation having thus been 
briefly described, the task of the remainder of the study is to present 
the findings. 



CHAPTER II 

FOREIGN LANGUAGES 

A. Latin 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

Responses to the inquiry in Latin were made by 105 teachers in 
schools distributed as follows: 

TABLE III 

Distribution by States of the Schools from 

Which Responses to the Inquiry in 

Latin Have Come 

Number of 
State Teachers Reporting 

Colorado 5 

Illinois 17 

Indiana 13 

Iowa 9 

Kansas 6 

Michigan 7 

Minnesota 6 

Missouri 4 

Montana 2 

Nebraska 4 

North Dakota i 

Ohio 17 

Oklahoma 2 

South Dakota 4 

Wisconsin 8 

Total 105 

II. THE OFFERING IN LATIN 
THE TIME element 

Years in the course. — The lengths in years of the courses in 
Latin are shown in Table IV. The 6 schools in which the offering 
extends through more than four years teach the subject in the 
seventh and eighth grades. 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 23 

Weeks per year. — Except for a few schools offering Latin in the 
seventh and eighth grades, the number of weeks per year in the 
courses in Latin ahnost universally conforms to the number of weeks 
in the school year, i.e., the courses are very seldom less than 36 weeks 
in length. One teacher each reports 32, 34, and 35 weeks, the 
rest reporting 36-42 weeks. It is probable that the teachers 
reporting 32 and 34 weeks exclude the weeks set apart for examina- 
tion. 

TABLE IV 

Length in Years of the Courses in Latin 

Length in Years Number of 

of the Course Schools 

2 2 

3 2 

4 95 

5 4 

6 2 



Total. 



los 



Periods per week. — ^The number of periods per week is almost 
always five, although 5 schools report four periods in the first 
year; 4, four periods in second and third; and 5, four periods in 
fourth. 

Length of periods. — The length of the class period is usually 
either 40 or 45 minutes. In 2 of the schools reporting these lengths 
of period, additional periods of equal length are reported for super- 
vised study. The exceptions are: 10 schools reporting 50-, 55-, or 
60-minute periods, and 3 others, who signify that time for super- 
vised study is required in addition, reporting 25- to 35-minute 
periods. 

LATIN IN THE GRADES OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL 

Although 2 schools report some work in Latin in the seventh 
grade and 8 in the eighth grade of the elementary school, there is 
no common practice as to high-school recognition of it. In 4 of the 
schools reporting Latin in eighth grade, there is no special offering 
for this grade, the pupils merely being permitted to carry first-year 
high-school Latin. In no case does the work offered in the ele- 
mentary grades seem to affect, except in the first year of the high 



24 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

school, the usual four-year sequence of high-school Latm, although 
it is probable that in 2 schools students who have taken the Latin 
while in the elementary grades may take Caesar in their first high- 
school year, Cicero in second, and Virgil in third. 

Of the 5 schools making answer to the question as to high-school 
recognition of Latin taken in the elementary grades, one allows 
a semester's credit, one permits the election of second- or third- 
semester Latin without granting credit toward graduation from the 
high school for the work in Latin taken in the grades, one grants 
credit for one year, one implies that the work covered is too small 
in amount to receive credit, and one has not yet established its 
practice. 

CREDIT FOR A SINGLE YEAR OP LATIN 

The schools are fairly evenly divided as to granting credit 
toward graduation for a single year of Latin, 54 granting and 49 
denying it. A very few of the schools mention granting such credit 
in some courses, as manual training, commercial, and normal, and 
denying it in others, such as classical and college preparatory. 

WHEN FIRST- YEAR LATIN MAY BE TAKEN 

Table V shows in what years the student may begin his study of 
Latin in the schools reporting. It will be. seen that first-year 

TABLE V 

Year or Years in Which First-Year Latin May 
Be Taken 

Number of 
Year in High School Schook 

First (only) 17 

First or second 7 

First, second, or third 32 

Any year 41 

First or third 6 

First, third, or fourth 2 

Total los 

Latin is not at all conceived as exclusively a first-year high-school 
subject, the practice in 81 schools — more than three-fourths of those 
answering — opening it to students in the later years of their courses. 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 25 

In answer to the question, "If the language may be begun at 
points in the high-school course two years apart (e.g., in the first 
year and also in the third year) or more, are the students from the 
different years cared for in the same division?" 85 teachers say 
"Yes," none say "No," while the remaining 20 do not reply. We 
may conclude that no schools provide special divisions for the 
students from the later years. A few teachers volunteer the 
information that it seldom happens that first-year Latin is taken 
by students in the later years of their high-school courses. 

III. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSES 

First-year Latin. — The content of the course in first-year Latin 
is very generally determined by the textbook used. Ninety per 
cent indicate that this is true of (a) the reading and translation of 
the course, only 7 per cent reporting the use of supplementary 
material; (&) 92 per cent state or imply that the text furnishes all 
the work in grammar and syntax; and (c) 80 per cent, that it in- 
cludes all the work done in the writing of Latin. The remainder 
do not reply. 

Second-year Latin. — (a) The reading and translation in the 
second year is constituted in 84 per cent of the schools of Books i-iv 
of Caesar, and, in an additional 12 per cent, of material from the 
seven books equivalent in amount to the first four. A single school 
reports less than this amount. Three schools report the reading of 
selections from Caesar, together with other materials, viz., Viri 
Romae,'N epos, New Gradatim. (b) Practically all schools making 
answer provide work in grammar and syntax, slightly more than 
half specifying the use of grammar or composition texts, most of 
the remainder drilling on "hard clauses," following a system of 
review, studying syntax "as met," etc. (c) Almost half base the 
work in the writing of Latin on a composition manual, 10 per cent 
base it on the Latin read, while 40 per cent report the teaching of 
prose composition, but do not define its character. 

Third-year Latin. — (a) Ninety-three per cent of the schools 
epitomizing their third-year courses report the reading and trans- 
lation of six orations of Cicero, these being the four against Cataline 
and two of the following: for Archias, the Pompeian Law, and the 



26 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

Manilian Law. Five add "some letters" of Cicero, while a very 
few report some sight reading or selections from Sallust and Ovid. 
The facts as to work in (6) grammar and syntax and in (c) the 
writing of Latin are much the same as reported for second-year 
Latin, except that a larger proportion do not reply, from which we 
may conclude that these aspects of the work are not as frequently 
emphasized as in the first two years or are not as carefully organized. 
Fourth-year Latin. — (a) All of the 94 schools outlining the fourth- 
year course in Latin report the reading and translation of Virgil. 
The amount read is with few exceptions the first six books. But a 
single school reports less — ^Books i-iv. Ten schools add selections 
from Ovid, Cicero, or Sallust, the first-named being most commonly 
listed. Work in {b) grammar and syntax and in (c) the writing of 
Latin is much less often reported for the course in fourth-year 
Latin than for the courses in preceding years, and we may conclude 
from this that it much less often finds a clearly defined place. 
However, more than half report such work. 

IV. METHODS 

Of the 10 1 teachers who answer on this point 83 state that they 
are using the "grammar-translation" method in classes in beginning 
Latin. Twelve report the use of the "direct" method, although 9 
of these say they are experimenting with it. The remaining 15 use 
a combination of the "grammar- translation" and "direct" 
methods. 

Table VI shows to what extent certain special devices, materials, 
and activities are being used by the teachers of Latin. In addition 
to those appearing in the table, a few teachers mention such supple- 
mentary activities as debates, essays, letters in Latin, Roman 
legion and senate, and the making of Caesar's bridge. 

The time spent in daily preparation by the students as reported 
by the teachers varies from 30 to 120 minutes. The modal prac- 
tices for first year are 45 and 60 minutes, while in 58 per cent of all 
schools reporting for this year the time spent ranges between 40 and 
60 minutes. The modal practices in the second year are 60 and 
65-75 minutes, 66 per cent devoting from 45 to 75 minutes to the 
work. The modal points for both third and fourth years are 60 and 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 27 

90 minutes, 74 per cent and 76 per cent of the schools, respectively, 
being included within these limits. It will thus be seen that the 

TABLE VI 

Number of Teachers Reporting the Use of 

Various Devices, Materials, and 

Activities 

Devices, Materials, Number of 

and Activities Teachers Reporting 

Maps 87 

Correlation 81 

Pictures , 72 

Contests 42 

Exhibits 36 

Charts 35 

Magazines , - 33 

Games 32 

Perception cards 25 

Stereopticon 22 

Latin club 15 

Emphasis on English derivatives 10 

Plays 3 

Total number making responses to questionnaire . . 105 

tendency is to require longer daily preparation in the more advanced 
courses in Latin. 

V. AIMS 

Table VII contains the aims in the teaching of Latin that were 
listed in the questionnaire and the extent of the concurrence of the 
teachers in each of the aims listed. It is to be noted that there is 
very general assent to the aims as given. Although the teachers 
were asked to give other aims, very few did so, and those aims which 
were added, with one exception — -"correlation with geography" — • 
readily classify under those that were already Usted in the question- 
naire. We cannot be far wrong in concluding that those listed in 
Table VII comprehend what these teachers aim to make the net 
results of their courses in Latin. 

VI. SUMMARY 

I. The course of study in Latin extends almost universally 
through four years. 



28 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

2. A small proportion of schools teach beginnmg Latin in the 
upper grades of the elementary school. This ojffering in the ele- 
mentary grades does not seem to affect the last three years of the 
usual four-year sequence, nor is there any standard practice as to 
recognition on a high-school basis for such work. 

3. Somewhat more than half the schools grant credit toward 
graduation for a single year of Latin. 

TABLE VII 

Extent or Concurrence of Teachers of Latin in the Various Aims 
Listed in the Questionnaire Number of 

Teachers 
Aims Concurring 

Correct and ready pronunciation 93 

Ability to read and understand Latin of the grade usually offered in the 

Freshman year in college 97 

Ability to translate such Latin into EngHsh 97 

AbiHty to write Latin of the grade usually required in the Freshman 

year in college 97 

A ready, accurate, and fairly complete working knowledge of Latin 

grammar loi 

A better understanding of English word-meanings and the grammatical 

structure of the English language 103 

A fair knowledge of the history, manners, and customs of the Romans 

and their influence on Western civihzation 92 

A fair knowledge of the mythology of the Greeks and Romans 91 

Assenting to all the preceding aims 74 

Total number of responses 105 

4. High-school courses in Latin are almost always a full school 
year of not less than 36 weeks in length with five periods of 40 or 
45 minutes per week. A few schools have made provision for 
supervised study. 

5. The usual amounts of time required of the students for daily 
preparation are 40-60 minutes in the first year and 60-90 minutes 
in the third and fourth years, although a number of schools require 
less, a few as little as 30 minutes, while others require more, some as 
much as 120 minutes. 

6. First-year Latin is not conceived as exclusively a first-year 
high-school subject, since more than three-fourths of the teachers 
reporting signify that it is open to students from the later years of 
the high school. 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 29 

7. The content of the course in first-year Latin is determined 
in all but a few schools by the textbooks used. The reading and 
translation of subsequent courses have been well standardized, as in 
almost all schools the second year concerns itself with the first 
four books or the equivalent of Casear's Gallic War, the third with 
six orations of Cicero, and the fourth with the six books of Virgil. 
Although work in grammar and syntax and the writing of Latin 
appear in the second, third, and fourth years, the proportion of 
schools reporting it decreases from all in the second to somewhat 
more than half in the fourth; there is a tendency toward the dis- 
appearance of its formal recognition in the later years. 

8. The grammar-translation method is most commonly used, 
although some schools are reporting the use of the direct method, 
and others a combination of the grammar-translation and the 
direct methods. 

9. The teachers report the use of a number of special devices, 
methods, and activities. 

10. There is general agreement as to the aims that should 
dominate the teaching of Latin. 

B. Greek 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

Responses to the inquiry in Greek were made by teachers in 
schools distributed as shown in Table VIII. The small number 

TABLE VIII 

Distribution of the Schools from WmcH 

Responses to the Inquiry in Greek 

Were Received 

Number of _ 
State Schools Reporting 

Illinois 3 

Indiana i 

Missouri i 

Nebraska i 

Ohio I 

Total 7 

reporting, as is stated in chapter i, is due in large part to the fact 
that Greek no longer finds a place in high-school programs of study. 



30 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

II. THE OFFERING IN GREEK 
. THE TIME ELEMENT 

Three schools report a two-year and 4 a three-year course in 
Greek. The work for each year extends through at least 36 weeks 
in all schools. With the exception of i school in which Greek in 
the fourth year is given but four periods per week, the common 
practice is five periods per week. These periods are 45 minutes in 
length, except for 2 schools in which they extend through 50 and 
55 minutes. 

CREDIT FOR A SINGLE YEAR 

Five of the schools grant credit toward graduation for a single 
year of Greek; 2 deny it. 

WHERE BEGINNING GREEK APPEARS 

Three schools list the first course in Greek as a first-year, 4 as a 
second-year, and i as a third-year high-school subject. Inquiry 
was not made as to other years in which the student may elect the 
beginning course. 

m. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSES 

First-year Greek. — (a) The reading and translation in first-year 
courses include what appears in beginning textbooks, with usually 
some portions of the Anabasis in addition. The work in ih) gram- 
mar and syntax and in (c) the writing of Greek is limited to what 
appears in the first-year text used. 

Second-year Greek. — {a) The reading and translation content of 
this course is either the first four books of the Anabasis (3 schools) 
or three books of the Anabasis with three books of the Iliad (3 
schools). The work in (6) grammar and syntax is either based on a 
special manual or upon "syntax as met," while that in (c) the writ- 
ing of Greek is drawn from a composition manual or is based upon 
the Greek that is read. 

Third-year Greek. — (c) For reading and translation 2 schools 
cover six books of the Iliad, one of these adding "some" Odyssey. 
Two others cover only the first four books of the Iliad, one of 
them reporting some additional work in a Greek reader. The 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 31 

work in (6) grammar and syntax is reported as "following the 
text" or teaching it "as met," and that in (c) the writing of Greek 
is drawn from composition texts or is based upon the material read. 

IV. METHODS 

In 4 schools the method used in classes in beginning Greek is the 
grammar-translation method and in 3 schools a combination of 
this and the direct method. 

The special devices, materials, and activities of which teachers 
of Greek avail themselves are shown in Table IX. In addition to 
these, one teacher reports the use of the Greek testament, transla- 
tion being made from merely hearing it read. 

TABLE IX 

Number of Teachers of Greek Reporting the Use 
OF Various Devices, Materials, and Activities 

Devices, Materials, Number of 

and Activities Teachers 

Correlation with other subjects 5 

Maps 4 

Pictures 4 

Stereopticon 2 

Exhibits 2 

Perception cards i 

Charts i 

Magazines i 

Contests i 

Classical club i 

Total number of teachers reporting 7 

The time spent in daily preparation by the students ranges 
from 45 to 120 minutes. The most common amount required by 
the work is 60-75 niinutes. 

v. AIMS 

Table X contains the aims in the teaching of Greek that were 
listed in the questionnaire and shows the extent of the concurrence 
of the 7 teachers in each of the aims listed. Although the teachers 
were asked to give other purposes, none did so, and we may there- 
fore conclude that those Hsted comprehend what these teachers 
aim to make the net results of their courses in Greek. 



32 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

VI. SUMMARY 

(It should be kept in mind that the following summary is based upon but 7 
responses of teachers of Greek.) 

I. Greek has practically disappeared from programs of study 
in the secondary schools of North Central territory. 



TABLE X 

Extent to Which Teachers of Greek Concur in the Aims Listed in the 

Questionnaire 

Number of 

Teachers 

Aims Concurring 

Correct and ready pronunciation 7 

AbiKty to read and understand Greek of the grade usually offered in the 

Freshman year in college 6 

Abihty to translate Greek into Enghsh 7 

AbUity to write Greek of the grade usually required in the Freshman year 

in college 6 

A better understanding of the EngUsh word-meanings and the grammatical 

structure of the English language 6 

A fair knowledge of the history, manners, and customs of the Greeks and 

their influence on Western civilization 7 

A fair knowledge of the mythology of the Greeks 6 

Some idea of the forms of hterature which the Greeks have given to the 

world 4 



2. The courses offered are either two or three years in length. 
The work for each year extends through at least 36 weeks, usually 
with five 45-muiute recitation periods per week. 

3. The time required for preparation varies greatly. Students 
usually spend from 60 to 75 minutes in daily preparation. 

4. Most of the schools grant credit for a single year of Greek. 

5. There is no standard year of appearance for courses in 
beginning Greek. 

6. The content of courses in Greek does not seem to have been 
as well standardized as that of courses in Latin. 

7. The grammar-translation method is used more commonly in 
the instruction of beginning classes, although a combination of 
grammar- translation and direct methods is also reported. 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 



ZZ 



8. The teachers report the use of several devices, methods, and 
activities. 

9. There is rather general agreement as to what should be the 
net results to the student of the course in Greek. 



C. The Modern Languages 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

Responses to the inquiry in modern languages were made by 
teachers in schools distributed as shown in Table XI. 

TABLE XI 

Distribution by States of the Responses to the iNQtiXRY in Modern 

Languages 



State 


Number 


OF TEACaHERS REPORTING 


German 


French 


Spanish 


Colorado 


7 

29 

21 

8 

10 

20 

10 

6 

3 

4 

3 

19 

3 

3 

IS 




2 


Illinois 


8 




Indiana 




Iowa 






Kansas 






Michigan 


5 
3 
3 


I 


Minnesota 




Missouri 


2 


Montana 


I 


Nebraska 


I 




North Dakota 




Ohio 


S 

I 


2 


Oklahoma 




South Dakota 




Wisconsin 


3 


2 






Total number of teachers reporting. . . 


161 


29 


10 



II. EXTENT OE THE OFFERING 
THE TIME ELEMENT 

Length in years of the courses. — Table XII shows the number of 
schools reporting two-, three-, and four-year courses in the modern 
languages. It will be seen that the modal length of courses in 
German and French is two years, although three- and four-year 
courses are also common. Although one may easily impart too 
much significance to the fact because of the small number of 



34 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

reports received, it is interesting to note that twice as many schools 
offer a four-year as offer a two-year course in Spanish. 

TABLE XII 
Length in Years of the Courses in the Modern Languages 



Length of Course in Years 


Number of Schools 


German 


French 


Spanish 


2 


62 
43 
43 


14 
9 

5 


3 


5 


4 


6 




Total number of schools reporting . . . 


148 


28 


10 



Weeks per year. — With scarcely any exceptions the length of 
each year of the courses in the modem languages is 36 or more 
weeks. Two exceptions appear for German, one each of 34 and 
35 weeks, and one of 33 weeks appears for French. There are no 
exceptions for Spanish. 

Periods per week. — ^Almost all schools follow the practice of 
five recitation periods per week. Four exceptions appear in the 
courses in German: 2 schools report five periods in first year and 
four in second; i school each reports four and three periods per 
week throughout all years of the course. Two exceptions are 
reported for French, one each of four and three periods throughout. 
No exceptions are reported for Spanish. 

Length of periods. — Table XIII shows the lengths of periods in 
use in the classes in the modern languages. This table indicates 
that the usual length of periods is 40 or 45 minutes. The 2 schools 
reporting 30-minute periods, 2 of those reporting 40-minute periods, 
I of those reporting 60-minute periods, and the 2 reporting 80- 
minute periods for German, i.e., a total of 7 schools, state or imply 
that they provide time for supervised study — in the case of the 
shorter periods in addition to, and in the case of the longer periods 
as a part of, the time reported. The 2 schools reporting 80- 
minute periods for French devote half of the period to super- 
vised study. No 80-minute periods are reported after the second 
year. 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 



35 



MODERN LANGUAGES IN THE ELEMENTARY GRADES 

German and French appear in the elementary grades of a 
number of school systems. The numerical facts of such appear- 

TABLE XIII 

Number of Schools Reporting Various Lengths op Class Periods in the 
Modern Languages 





Number of Schools 


Length of Period in Minutes 


German 


French 


Spanish 


■3.0 


2 

77 

67 

6 

6 

2 


*I 
7 

17 
2 




4.0 


4 


AC 


1; 


CO 




60 


I 


80 


2 








Total number of schools reporting . . . 


160 


29 


ID 



* This school reports "30- and 60-niinute" periods. 



ance are set forth in Table XIV. This table indicates that German 
is much more commonly taught in the grades of the elementary 
school than is French, and that the number of schools teaching 

TABLE XIV 

Number of Schools Reporting German and French in the Grades of the 

Elementary School 



Grades in Which Study of Modem Languages Appears 


German 


French 


Fourth. 


4 

8 

II 

18 

23 




Fifth 




Sixth 


2 


Seventh 


3 


Eighth 


2 






Total number of schools reporting German and 
French in the grades of elementary schools 


31 


4 



it increases with considerable regularity from the fourth grade 
to the eighth. 

Twenty-four schools make more or less definite responses to the 
inquiry as to high-school recognition of elementary-school work 
in German. Of these, but a single school fails to grant recognition 



36 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



in some sort. The extent of recognition in the remaining schools 
is shown by the following: 

One-half year of credit is granted in 5 schools. 
One year of credit is granted in 9 schools. 
One-half to one year of credit is granted in i school. 
Two years of credit are granted in 2 schools. 
Students enter advanced courses in 5 schools. 
Students proceed more rapidly in i school. 

No inquiry was made into the relation of the amount of credit 
granted to the time devoted to the work in the grades. 

CREDIT FOR A SINGLE YEAR OF MODERN LANGUAGE 

Table XV shows the practice in the schools of granting or 
denying credit for a single year of modern language. The pre- 
ponderance of practice favors granting such credit, but this tendency 

TABLE XV 

Number of Schools Granting and Denying Credit toward Graduation for a 
Single Year of Modern Language 





Number of Schools 


Type of Response 


German 


French 


Spanish 


The Three 
Languages 


Granting credit for a single year 

Denying credit for a single year 

Not repl3dng 


103 

53 

5 


14 

II 

4 


5 
5 



122 
69 

9 




Total number of schools 


161 


29 


10 


200 



is more marked in German than in French and Spanish, although 
the number of replies in the two languages last named may be too 
small to give a correct representation of the actual situation as to 
credit for a single year in them. 



WHEN STUDENTS MAY BEGIN THE STUDY OF A MODERN LANGUAGE 

Table XVI contains the answers to the question, "In what years 
may the high-school student begin his study of this language?" 
One essential fact shown by this table is the absence of any standard 
practice as to the place the first year of modern language may 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 



37 



take in the students' curricula, the first year of modern language 
being open to students over a wide range of years. This may be 
illustrated by the case of German. A scrutiny of the table dis- 
covers that 104, or 64.6 per cent, of the 161 schools permit students 

TABLE XVI 

Year or Years in Which the Study of Modern Languages May Be Begun 







NtTMBER OF Schools 




Year or Years 


Gennan 


French 


Spanish 


The Three 
Languages 


First.. 


4 
4 

2 
28 

37 
10 

13 
42 

I 

14 
6 






4 
6 


Second 


2 

2 
4 
5 
I 

5 
6 




First or second 




4 
32 
45 


Third 




First, second, or third 


3 

I 


First or third 


Second or third 


18 


Any year 


4 


52 


First, third, or fourth 


Second, third, or fourth 


I 
2 

I 




15 


Third or fourth 


2 


No answer ■. 












Total number of schools reporting 


161 


29 


10 


200 



as far as two (e.g., from the first and third years) or more years 
apart to elect first-year German, While this has an important 
bearing on the merely mechanical aspects of program-making, its 
greatest significance is to be seen in its relation to the paragraphs 
immediately following. 

SPECIAL PROVISION FOR STUDENTS WHO BEGIN A MODERN LANGUAGE AT 
POINTS IN THE HIGH-SCHOOL COURSE TWO OR MORE YEARS APART 

In response to the question, "If the language may be begun at 
points in the high-school course two years apart (e.g., in the first 
year and also in the third year) or more, .... are the students 
cared for in the same division?" the teachers answer as indicated 
in Table XVII. The facts appearing in the table, especially when 
studied in connection with those presented in the preceding table, 
lead to the conclusion that if different standards are not imposed 
upon students from such widely separated points in their high- 
school courses — and we cannot be far wrong when we doubt such a 



38 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

possibility — there is a very general failure to recognize and provide 
instruction in modern language adapted to the maturity and 
ability of students from the various years. One of two situations 
is Hkely to result in most schools: either there will be students from 
the later years of the high school who are not being called upon 
to do work which their greater maturity and capacity make pos- 
sible, or there will be students from the earlier years who are more 
or less confused by methods badly adapted to their needs or who 
are unjustly measured because they are asked to come up to the 
standards which immaturity makes unattainable for them. In 
either case there is no adequate discrimination between standards 
for students in the upper and lower years of the high school. 

TABLE XVII 

NxmBER OF Schools in Which Students Beginning a Modern Language at 

Points in the Course Two or More Years Apart Are Cared For 

IN THE Same Divisions 



The Modern Language 


Are Sttjdents Two or More Years Apart Cared 
For in the Same Division ? 




Yes 


No 


No answer 


Total 


German 


98 

18 

6 


17 

I 
I 


46 

10 

3 


161 


French 


29 


Spanish 






Total 


122 


19 


59 









The teachers of the modern languages in schools providing 
separate sections for students two or more years apart beginning a 
modern language were asked to state what quantitative and quali- 
tative differentiations are made for such sections. The quantitative 
differentiations reported for German are as follows: less reading 
and grammar in lower classes (6 schools) ; simpler conversation and 
less classical material (2 schools); third-year beginning class does 
"twice as much" as first-year beginning class (2 schools); one- 
third more work covered in later years (2 schools) ; more grammar 
in later years (i school). The qualitative differentiations reported 
are: simpler reading in classes from earlier years (2 schools); no 
complicated constructions in earlier years (2 schools); more con- 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 



39 



versation and less syntactical drill in earlier years (2 schools); 
conversational constituent more difl&cult in later years (i school). 

ni. METHODS 

Table XVIII shows what methods are being used in beginning 

classes in the modern languages. The grammar-translation 

method has given way to the direct or a combination of the 

grammar-translation and the direct methods. The direct method 

is reported as being used either exclusively or in combination with 

the grammar-translation method in more than three-fourths of the 

schools. The natural method is reported in a small number of 

schools. 

TABLE XVIII 

Number of Schools Reporting the Several Methods in Beginning Classes of 

Modern Language 



Method 


German 


French 


Spanish 


The Three 
Languages 


Grammar-translation 


22 
62 
62 

5 
10 


6 
8 

I 




28 


Direct 


3 

7 


73 

83 

6 


Combination 


Natural 


Not answering this question 




10 










Total number of schools reporting 


161 


29 


10 


200 



Some light on the extent to which teachers of the modern 
languages avail themselves in their instruction of the materials, 
devices, and special activities may be drawn from Table XIX. In 
addition to those listed, the following are reported by 1-4 teachers 
each {a) for classes in German: attendance at German plays, 
presentation of short and simple programs, study of German 
catalogues of farm implements, lectures in German by educated 
Germans, and German table in lunchroom; (&) for classes in 
French: attendance at French plays, correspondence with young 
people in French schools, French table at luncheon, and original 
stories in French; (c) for Spanish: letter- writing. 

IV. AIMS 

Table XX shows the extent to which the aims listed in the 
questionnaire were concurred in by the teachers of modern 



40 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

languages. Although the teachers were asked to state other aims, 
very few did so, and those which were added were without exception 

TABLE XIX 

Number of Teachers Reporting the Use of Various Methods, Devices, and 

Activities 



Materials, Devices, and Special AcirvmEs 



Number of Teachers Reporting 



German 



French 



Spanish 



Songbooks 

Stereopticons 

Postals 

Phonographs 

Maps 

Phonetic charts 

Wall pictures 

Illustrated books 

Illustrated magazines . 

Newspapers 

Clubs 

Plays 

Games 



114 

25 
81 
29 
103 
10 

63 
112 

97 
5 

25 

9 
9 



Total number of schools reporting. 



161 



10 

4 
18 

I 
18 

6 
13 
14 
IS 



29 



TABLE XX 

Extent of Concurrence of Teachers of Modern Languages in the Aims 
Listed in the Questionnaire 





Number of Teachers Concurring 


Aims 


German 


French 


Spanish 




158 
139 
142 

145 
151 

130 

118 
86 


29 
27 

27 

27 
26 

24 

23 
17 


10 


Ability to speak and understand the spoken 


to 


Ability to translate the language into 
English with facility 


10 


Ability to read the language with under- 
standing without the interposition of 


9 


A ready, accurate, and fairly complete 
working knowledge of the grammar of 


10 


Knowledge of the history, manners, cus- 
toms, and ideals of the country to which 
the language is native 


7 


A better understanding of the grammatical 
structure of the English language 


7 
5 






Total number of teachers reporting. . . 


161 


29 


10 



FOREIGN LANGUAGES 



41 



readily classifiable under those already listed in the questionnaire. 
We are probably justified in concluding that those listed, in addition 
to what is implied in the next paragraph, comprehend all that 
these teachers aim to make the results of their courses in the modern 
languages. 

Differentiation of purpose to meet future vocational needs of 
students is recognized by some schools, as will be seen in Table XXI. 
The kinds of dififerentiation reported are commercial, scientific, 

TABLE XXI 

Number of Schools Differentiating Courses in Modern Languages along 
Commercial, Scientific, and Industrial Lines 



Language 


Lines of Differentiation 


Total Number 


Commercial 


Scientific 


Industrial 


OF Responses 


German 


18 
5 
9 


13 
3 


IS 
I 


161 


French. 


29 
10 


Spanish 











and industrial. The small proportion of schools recognizing such 
differentiation in the work in German and French is at once appar- 
ent. This situation contrasts strikingly with that in Spanish, in 
which all but a single school recognize the desirability urged by 
the campaign for commerce with the South American countries of 
effecting a commercial differentiation. 

The year or years of the language sequence in which the differ- 
entiations appear, in so far as they are reported, are recorded in 
Table XXII. Such differentiation does not appear in a large pro- 
portion of the schools reporting it until the second year. This is 
true even of Spanish, the most markedly vocational of these lan- 
guages. 

V. SUMMARY 

1. Courses of study in the modern languages extend through 
two, three, or four years, more commonly two than three or four in 
German and French. The course in Spanish is frequently four 
years in length. 

2. The length of the school year determines the length of the 
year-course in modern languages, and this is almost without excep- 
tion 36 or more weeks. There are usually five recitation periods 



42 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



of 40 or 45 minutes per week. A small proportion of schools also 
provide time for supervised study in addition to the recitation 
period proper. 



TABLE XXII 

Number of Schools Reporting Differentiation along Vocational Lines in 
THE Various Years of the Modern-Language Sequence 


Language 


Year of the Language Seqxtence 


First 


Second 


Third 


Fourth 


German 


S 

I 
I 


13 
4 
8 


IS 

I 

4 


9 


French 


Spanish 


2 







3. Work in German and French, especially the former, is 
reported in the elementary schools. In almost all cases high-school 
recognition is given for it. 

4. Sixty per cent of the schools grant credit toward graduation 
for a single year of modern language. 

5. The first year of a modern language has found no standard 
place in the high-school program. Only a small proportion of 
schools provide special sections for students two years or more apart 
in their high-school classification. 

6. The direct method and a combination of the direct and 
grammar-translation methods are in most common use in beginning 
classes in modern languages. The grammar- translation and natural 
methods are also reported. 

7. Teachers avail themselves of such materials, devices, and 
special activities as songbooks, stereopticoAs, postals, phonographs, 
maps, phonetic charts, wall pictures, illustrated books and maga- 
zines, newspapers, German or French clubs, plays, and games to 
add interest and value to the work. 

8. (a) There is general agreement as to the aims that should 
dominate the courses in the modern languages. 

b) A small proportion of schools recognize, by differentiation of 
the courses after the first year along commercial, scientific, and 
industrial lines, the future vocational needs of their students of 
German and French. Some differentiation along commercial lines 
is almost universal in the courses in Spanish. 



CHAPTER III 

MATHEMATICS 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

The distribution of the schools from which responses have come 
to the inquiry in mathematics is as follows: 

TABLE XXIII 

Distribution, by States, of the Responses to the Inquiries in 
Mathematics 





Number of Teachers Reporting in 


State 


Elementary 
Algebra 


Plane 
Geometry 


Advanced 
Algebra 


Solid 
Geometry 


Trigo- 
nometry 


Colorado 


3 

19 

II 

6 

8 

12 

14 

3 

I 

6 

3 

I 

3 
II 


2 

20 

14 

6 

8 

IS 
10 

4 

I 
6 

3 
16 

I 

4 
12 


2 
5 
3 
6 
2 
3 






Illinois 


2 


I 


Indiana 


I 


Iowa. 


3 




Kansas 




Michigan 


I 


6 


Minnesota 




Missouri. 


I 


I 


I 


Montana 




Nebraska 


4 






North Dakota 






Ohio 


8 


3 


I 


Oklahoma 




South Dakota 


I 
2 






Wisconsin 




I 








Total number of 
teachers reporting. 


112 


122 


37 


10 


II 



The small number of responses in the more advanced courses 
must be due to a considerable extent to their decreasing importance 
in the high-school students' curricula. This has been brought 
about largely by, among other causes, the recent democratization of 
the high-school programs of study through the introduction of a 
wider range of work and of subjects not formerly offered, and by the 
resulting marked tendency on the part of the higher institutions to 
drop advanced algebra and solid geometry as entrance require- 
ments. Two reports on courses in algebra of college caUber have 

43 



44 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

been received, but such a small number of reports would give facts 
of too little significance to justify reproduction here. 

II. EXTENT OF THE OFFERING AND REQUIREMENT 
EXTENT OF THE OITERING^ 

The divisions of mathematics which are being taught in the 
high schools of the North Central states may be implied from 
the foregoing to be elementary algebra, advanced (sometimes 
called "intermediate") algebra, plane geometry, solid geometry, 
trigonometry, and college (sometimes called "advanced") alge- 
bra. To what extent each high school is offering all this work 
was not investigated, but it may be implied to some extent from 
the number of responses received in each of the subjects, i.e., we 
may say that, although all schools both offer and teach elementary 
algebra and plane geometry, a smaller proportion both offer and 
teach advanced algebra, and even fewer both offer and teach solid 
geometry and trigonometry. A very few schools are offering and 
teaching algebra of college grade. It would be easy, however, to 
place too much faith in these implications. 

YEARS IN WHICH COURSES IN MATHEMATICS APPEAR 

The years in which the subdivisions of mathematics appear are 
presented in Table XXIV. The essential facts as to years in which 
such courses appear are as follows: (i) elementary algebra is al- 
most without exception a first-year high-school subject; (2) plane 
geometry is markedly a second-year subject, but appears in the 
latter half of the second and the first half of the third year in 10 
schools in which it follows both elementary and advanced algebra, 
and in the third year in 20 schools; (3) advanced algebra is primarily 
a third- and fourth-year subject, with more schools offering it in 
the former year; (4) solid geometry is a third- or fourth-year 
subject; (5) trigonometry is always reported for the last year of the 
high school. 

The reasons most commonly given for placing elementary 
algebra in the first year are: (i) its necessity as a basis for higher 
mathematics and for the sciences, (2) its close connection with the 

' Commercial arithmetic is treated in the chapter on commercial subjects. 



MATHEMATICS 



45 



arithmetic of the elementary schools, and (3) its simple, elementary, 
and, therefore, suitable nature. The reasons most commonly given 
for placing plane geometry in the second year are: (i) its se- 
quential relation to algebra, (2) its necessity in this year as prepa- 
ration for physics, and (3) the maturity of the students. This 
last reason is the one most commonly given for its place by teachers 
who report plane geometry as a third-year subject. The usual 
reasons given for placing advanced algebra in the third or the fourth 
year are: (i) the suitable maturity of the students, (2) their prev- 

TABLE XXIV 
Number of Schools Reporting Various Years in Which the Several Courses 





IN 


Mathematics Appear 






Subject 


Year or Years in High School 


I 


2 


2-3 


3 


3-4 


4 


Elementary algebra . 


108 


4 
4 










Plane geometry . . . . 


10* 
it 


20 

18 

4 






Advanced algebra. . 




2t 
2t 




Solid geometry 




4 


Trigonometry 























* In the last half of the second year and the first half of the third, 
t May be taken in either year. 

ious experience with geometry, and (3) the proximity to college. 
The few schools that report this subject in the second year do so in 
order to make the work in algebra continuous. Solid geometry 
is placed in the third year in some schools because of its sequential 
relation to the mathematics of the preceding years, and in the fourth 
year because of the maturity necessary to the visualization of three- 
dimensional figures and because of proximity to college. The 
place of trigonometry in the fourth year is determined automatically 
by the prerequisite work in algebra and geometry. 

THE TIME ELEMENT 

Weeks in the course. — ^With two exceptions, one of 18 weeks and 
the other of 48, a school year of 36 or more weeks is devoted to 
elementary algebra. With one exception of 34 weeks a school 
year of 36 or more weeks is devoted to plane geometry. The course 
in advanced algebra usually extends through a half-year of 18-20 



46 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

weeks, but s schools extend it through a full year of 34 or more 
weeks. Solid geometry and trigonometry are always reported as 
half-year courses. 

Periods per week. — -The number of periods per week in ele- 
mentary algebra, with one exception each of four and six periods, is 
uniformly five. The exceptions to this standard practice in plane 
geometry are only three, two of four periods and one of six periods. 
The exceptions in advanced algebra, solid geometry, and trigo- 
nometry are the same, one each of three and four periods. 

Length of periods. — The lengths of periods are shown in Table 
XXV. With a small proportion of exceptions the lengths of periods 



TABLE XXV 

NtniBER OF Schools Reporting Various Lengths of Class Periods for Courses 

IN Mathematics 



Length of Period 
IN Minutes 



Number Reporting for 



Elementary 
Algebra 



Plane 
Geometry 



Advanced 
Algebra 



SoUd 
Geometry 



Trigo- 
nometry 



40 

42 

43 

45 

SO 

55 

60 

65 

80 

Not reporting . 



SO 
3 
2 

45 
2 

I 
6 
2 



52 



13 
4 



4 
S3 

4 



17 



Number of responses 
to questionnaire.. . 



37 



are 40 and 45 minutes, the practice being almost evenly divided 
between these two. The one school each under elementary algebra 
and plane geometry reporting 80-minute periods devotes half this 
time to supervised study. Both schools reporting 65-minute 
periods in elementary algebra and plane geometry report super- 
vised study during 30 minutes of this time, the remainder of the 
time being given over to recitation. Both of these schools require 
outside study in addition. Three other schools reporting 40-minute 
periods for elementary algebra and one school each reporting 



MATHEMATICS 47 

40- and 45-mmute periods for plane geometry provide additional 
periods of equal length for supervised study. 

THE REQIHREMENT IN MATHEMATICS 

Statements were received from 106 schools as to the amount of 
work in mathematics required for graduation. The facts are pre- 
sented in Table XXVI. The table makes clear the following facts: 
(i) that the usual requirement of mathematics is two years ; (2) that 
a small proportion of schools require less, some even having dropped 
mathematics as a required high-school subject; (3) that some 
schools still require two and one-half or three years, some of the 
latter perhaps out of deference to the older and now disappearing 

TABLE XXVI 

Number of Years of Mathematics Required for 
Graduation from the High Schools 

Years Number of 

Required Schools 

None 5 

1 5 

2 69 

2j 12 

3 12 

4 I 

Depending on course 2 

Total 106 

college-entrance requirement of three years of mathematics; 

(4) that a single school imposes a four-year requirement; and 

(5) that 2 schools state that the requirement depends upon the 
course pursued by the student. Certain qualifications added by 
a few of the teachers indicate that a practice similar to that just 
stated under (5) appears in more schools than the tabulation 
enumerates. One school reporting a requirement of two years in 
most courses specifies three years for technical courses. Another 
school adds a third year to the usual two-year requirement for 
those taking the college-preparatory course. A few other schools 
permit departure from their usual two-year requirement in "some 
courses," but do not name these courses. 



48 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



III. ORGANIZATION OP THE COURSES 

The answers to the question, "What important deviations do 
you make in your course from the plan of the text you are using ? " 
give full support to the conclusion that the content and organiza- 
tion of courses in mathematics are largely determined by the 
textbook used. It will be noted in Table XXVII that a large 
proportion of the teachers report that they make no important 
deviations. To these, because of the conscientious way in which 
the teachers generally have responded to our inquiry, we may safely 
add practically all of those who make no answer to the question. 

TABLE XXVII* 

Deviations from the Pl^ns of Texts Used Reported by Teachers 
OF Mathematics 



Deviations from the Plan 
of the Text 


Elementary 
Algebra 


Plane 
Geometry 


Advanced 
Algebra 


Solid 
Geometry 


Trigo- 
nometry 


Omissions 


21 

6 

21 
42 

19 


29 
48 


8 
S 
9 
13 
4 


I 
3 




Additions 


3 

I 


Shifts of order 


None 

No answer 


31 
18 


6 


6 

I 








Total number of 
responses to the 
questionnaire 


112 


122 


37 


10 


11 



* Because a few deviations do not conform to the classifications adopted here, and also because a few 
teachers report two or three tjTses of deviations, the numbers under the various categories are not, except 
in two instances, equal to the total numbers of responses to the questionnaire. These last have been 
introduced merely for purposes of comparison. 



Almost all deviations reported were readily classifiable under the 
categories "Omissions," "Additions," and "Shifts of Order" 
appearing in the table. This may be illustrated for all the divisions 
of the field by quotations from typical deviations reported by 
teachers of elementary algebra: "omit some theory," "add drill 
work," "shift order," "defer graphing," "omit graphing," "simpler 
problems added," "factoring before fractions," "much extra work," 
"give mimeographed lessons" in addition, "introduce transposition 
early," etc. Only a few report deviations of as much significance as 
"commence with equation and make all else subordinate to it" 
and "correlate various branches of mathematics." In the case 



MATHEMATICS 



49 



of plane geometry lo of the 48 "additions" reported refer to the 
introduction of "practical" problems. 



rV. METHODS 



DISPOSITION OF THE CLASS PERIOD 



The teachers were asked to state what fractional parts of the 
recitation periods are devoted to recitation, study, teaching, and 
lesson assignment. Although the practices were ascertained for 
all the divisions of the field of mathematics, because these do not 
vary from subject to subject in any significant respects, only those 

TABLE XXVIII 
Fractional Disposition of Class Period in Elebientary Algebra 



Devoted to 


Minima 


Maxima 


Modal Practices 


Recitation 


i( 2)* 
(50) 
A ( I) 

h{2) 


1(5) 

Ms) 
Id) 

Hi) 


\ (10), 1 (11), h (23), f (12) 

(50), H 6), H 8) 

f (10), \ (11) 
\ (11), i (11), J (11) 


Study 


Teaching 


Lesson assignment 



* The numbers in parentheses are the numbers of schools reporting the practices. 



reported for the teaching of elementary algebra are reproduced 
here (Table XXVIII). From one-eighth to three-fourths of the 
class period is devoted to recitation proper, the modal practices 
being one-fourth, one-third, one-half, and two-thirds, these modal 
points suggesting a wide range of practice. From none to one-half 
of the class period is devoted to study, the modal points being none, 
one-fourth, and one-third. The noteworthy facts here are that a 
very large proportion of schools allow no time for study and that 
those who provide it restrict it to a small proportion of the class 
period. Teaching occupies from one-tenth to two-thirds of the 
period, the modal practices being two-ninths to one-third. Lesson 
assignment occupies one-twentieth to one-half the time, with modal 
practices at one-ninth, one-eighth, and one-fourth. It may be 
said that the data on this matter lack reliabiHty in some degree 
because of the possibility of different interpretations of the words 
"recitation," "study," "teaching," and "assignment." Teaching, 
in particular, suffers from such lack of uniform definition. 



5° 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



In connection with this discussion of the disposition of the class 
period, we mention again the practice in several schools, reported 
under "Time Element" above, of providing in classes in elementary 
algebra and plane geometry for supervised study in connection with, 
and in addition to, the regular recitation period of 40 or 45 minutes. 

TYPES OF METHOD FOUND MOST SATISFACTORY 

The answers to the question as to which of the various methods, 
i.e., authoritative, deductive, inductive, analytic, and genetic, are 
being used have been assembled in Table XXIX. The deductive, 
inductive, and analytic methods seem to be most used, the authori- 
tative and genetic being used by only a small proportion of teachers. 

TABLE XXIX 
Types of Method Found Most Satisfactory by Teachers of Mathematics 





Number of Teachers Reporting for 


Type of Method 


Elementary 
Algebra 


Plane 
Geometry 


Advanced 
Algebra 


SoKd 
Geometry 


Trigo- 
nometry 


Authoritative 


29 
57 
79 
60 

19 


20 
81 

71 
92 
24 


3 
10 

IS 

16 

2 


2 

8 
2 

5 

I 


2 


Deductive 


S 
6 


Inductive 


Analj^ic 


5 

I 


Genetic 






Total number of re- 
sponses to ques- 
tionnaire 


112 


122 


37 


10 


II 



Many teachers report the use of more than one method, sometimes 
three or four, some stating specifically that different methods 
are pertinent at various times. Several other methods or other 
names for those already listed are reported by one or two teachers 
each: "grouping theorems," "heuristic," "lecture and dialogue," 
"synthetic," "development," and "suggestive." 



SPECIAL devices 



Table XXX shows the extent to which certain special devices 
are being used by the teachers of algebra and trigonometry. A 
small number of teachers report that they are using tables of 



MATHEMATICS 



51 



squares, cubes, and cube roots. Only a few teachers of geometry 
report the use of the devices named in the table. 

TABLE XXX 

Extent to Which Certain Special Devices Are Reported as Being Used in 
Teaching Algebra and Trigonometry 



Device 


Elementary 
Algebra 


Advanced 
Algebra 


Trigonometry 


Tables of square roots 


35 

12 

2 


19 

25 

6 


S 
II 


Tables of logarithnis 


Slide rule 


5 




Total number of responses to ques- 
tionnaire 


1X2 


37 


II 







mSTORICAL NOTES 

The following percentages of the teachers report the use of his- 
torical notes in their classes in mathematics: in elementary algebra, 
37 . 8 per cent; in solid geometry, 30 per cent; and in trigonometry, 
36.4 per cent. The small proportion of teachers who report the 
use of "a very few" and a number of others who make no answer to 
the question may be included with an approximate third of the 
teachers who answer "no." Some of the teachers who report that 
historical notes are not introduced plead lack of time as the reason 
for not making them a constituent of courses in mathematics. The 
figures just given indicate that such notes are more commonly used 
in the earlier than in the more advanced courses. 

The values most commonly ascribed to this use of historical 
notes are the interest they add in "humanizing" the work and the 
light they throw on the development of the subject. On the other 
hand, some teachers who report that such notes are not constituents 
of their courses regard the historical aspect as non-essential, im- 
practical, and unsuited to the maturity of the students. 



CORRELATION OF ALGEBRA AND GEOMETRY 

Table XXXI will give some information as to the proportion of 
teachers who are making efforts to correlate the work in algebra and 
geometry, although it can offer little as to the extent of correlation 
within the schools. In general, we may say that those answering 



52 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



"yes" or "some" may be considered as having done something 
in the way of such correlation, whereas those who answer "very 
little," "no," or who do not answer may be classed together as 

TABLE XXXI 

Extent to Which Teachers Reporting Make Efforts to Correlate Algebra 

AND Geometry 



Subject 


Yes 


Some 


Very Little 


No 


No Answer 


Total 
Number 
Answering 
Question- 
naire 


Elementary algebra . 
Plane geometry. . . . 
Advanced algebra . . 
Solid geometry 


44 
66 

14 

2 


23 
21 

4 


14 
12 

6 

2 


19 
18 

7 
4 


12 

5 
6 

2 


112 
122 

37 
10 






Total 


126 


48 


34 


48 


25 


281 







doing nothing or practically nothing along this line. In figures this 
will mean that a total of 174 teachers have done something and that 
107 have done nothing or practically nothing with such correlation. 
The values which teachers say they have found in such corre- 
lation classify, with very few exceptions, under the following: 
(i) it makes the subjects easier of comprehension; (2) it teaches 
the unity of mathematics; and (3) it creates more interest in the 
subjects. A few teachers complain that such correlation con- 
fuses algebra students and that therefore the attempt in their schools 
has not met with success. 



EFFORTS TO MEET CURRENT CRITICISMS OF HIGH-SCHOOL MATHEMATICS 

The teachers were asked to describe briefly any efforts they 
have made to meet current criticisms of high-school mathematics. 
Table XXXII indicates that 174, or approximately 60 per cent, of 
the questionnaires signify that the teachers are making some effort 
to meet such criticisms. Those who do not answer the question 
may safely be included with those who report they are making none, 
thus leaving us free to conclude that approximately 40 per cent are 
making no such efforts. Perhaps many of these are of a mind with 
the one teacher who reports that he "ignores" the criticisms. 



MATHEMATICS 



53 



The kinds of effort described vary widely, and one is led to 
wonder how the teachers who report some of them can delude 
themselves into believing that they are seriously addressed to meet 
any criticism. For the most part, however, the efforts include 
reforms in the interest of the practical, the utilitarian. Under this 
teaching may be grouped efforts to use "problems of daily life," 

TABLE XXXII 

Number of Teachers Reporting Efforts to Meet Current Criticisms of 
High-School Mathematics 





Number of Teachers 


Subject 


Reporting Some 
Effort 


Reporting 
"None" 


Not Answering 


Total Number 
of Responses to 
Questionnaire 


Elementary algebra 

Plane geometry 


66 
78 
21 

3 
6 


5 
4 

I 
I 


41 
40 

IS 
6 

5 


112 
122 


Advanced algebra 


37 
10 


Solid geometry 




II 








Total 


174 


II 


107 


292 







"more concrete work," "more practical problems," "vocational 
problems," and "problems within the students' experiences." 
For example, such are mentioned 45 times by the 66 teachers of 
elementary algebra who signify that they are making efforts to 
meet current criticisms. The proportion reporting this type of 
effort is approximately the same for the other divisions of the field 
of mathematics. 

V. AIMS AND VALUES 

AIMS 

The aims and purposes of the work in mathematics were set 
down with a great variety of expression. They are reducible, how- 
ever, to about four general classes. The classes call for (i) a 
working knowledge of the subject, (2) preparation for subsequent 
academic work, (3) a stressing of the practical aspects, and (4) free 
play for the disciplinary values. The extent to which the aims as 
classified are reported by the teachers is shown in Table XXXIII. 
In the minds of the teachers disciplinary aims are manifestly most 



54 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

important. It should be noted that emphasis upon the practical 
aspects and allowance for the free play of disciplinary values are 
not considered mutually exclusive, some teachers reporting both. 

TABLE XXXIII 

Extent to Which Certain Types of Aims Are Reported by Teachers of 

Mathematics 



Aim 


Elementary 
Algebra 


Plane 
Geometry 


Advanced 
Algebra 


Solid 
Geometry 


Trigo- 
nometiy 


A working knowledge of 
the subject 


49 

39 

35 

109 


31 

43 

26 

169* 


18 

13 
10 

24 


S 
3 
4 
6 


4 


Preparation for subse- 
quent academic work . . 

Stressing the practical 
aspects 


■ 5 


Free play for the disci- 
plinary values ........ 


4 


Total number of re- 
sponses to ques- 
tionnaire 


112 


122 


37 


10 


II 







* Some teachers report more than one disciplinary value. 



That some idea of the method used in the classification of aims 
may be given, typical aims and purposes reported by the teachers 
of elementary algebra are quoted here. Under the head of "A 
Working Knowledge of the Subject" were placed such state- 
ments as, "to manipulate formulae and generalize," "accuracy and 
skill in handling algebraic symbols," "easier solution for problems," 
"knowledge of the equation," and "to impart mathematical ele- 
ments " ; under " Preparation for Subsequent Academic Work " were 
placed such statements as the following: "aid in later mathematics 
and science," "to make the work in geometry easy," and "to pre- 
pare for college"; under "Stressing the Practical Aspects": 
"to make the work practical" and "to supplement and add to prac- 
tical computation value of arithmetic"; under "Free Play for 
Disciplinary Values ": "to develop power and accuracy," " to teach 
the child to think," "training the mind," "emphasis upon the dis- 
ciplinary value," "to lay a foundation for analytic work of all 
kinds," "to teach definiteness, leading to assurance and poise," 
and "to develop the habit of taking initiative in any problem or 



MATHEMATICS 55 

task." One cannot refrain from noting, on reading the statements 
in the questionnaires made in response to this inquiry, how much 
more gHbly teachers speak of these disciplinary values than of those 
aims that classify under the three preceding heads. 

EXTENT TO WHICH AIMS ARE FULFILLED 

The teachers were asked to state to what extent they believe that 
their purposes are accomplished with various groups of pupils in 
the high school. The following groups were listed in the question- 
naire: boys, girls, those preparing for college, and those preparing 
for trades. Nothing of significance appears when the answers are 
tabulated with respect to the four classes of aims listed above, as 
the teachers seem to have understood the question to be to what 
extent the courses in mathematics meet the needs of these groups 
of students. The proportions are the same for all four classes of 
aims. The tabulation of responses on the latter basis indicates that 
courses in mathematics more nearly approximate the needs of boys 
than of girls and of those preparing for college than of those prepar- 
ing for trades. This is shown in Table XXXIV, which presents 
the facts for plane geometry and which will give a fair representation 
of the situation for the other divisions of mathematics as well. 

TABLE XXXIV 

Proportion or Teachers Who Believe That 
Needs of Various Groups of Students Are 
Being Well Cared For by Courses in 
Plane Geometry 

Percentage of Teachers 

Giving Answers 
Equivalent to "Well" 
Groups or "Very Well" 

Boys 80 

Girls 50 

Those preparing for college 85. 

Those preparing for trades 36 

discipline versus content 

The answers to the question, "Which do you regard as more 
important, the content of the course or the discipline?" appear 
in Table XXXV. The facts set forth here, as well as those pre- 
sented under "Aims" above, go to show that, despite the recent 



56 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

heated controversy as to the "transfer of training," a very large 
proportion of teachers of mathematics hold to the opinion of the 
pervasive nature of the training in their courses. Only in the case 
of trigonometry does content seem to be recognized as making the 
essential contribution to the educational value of the subject. 
Nevertheless, we cannot pass without notice the fact that with a 
far from negligible proportion of teachers content is elevated to the 
superior position, while another considerable proportion deems the 
two of equal value. 

TABLE XXXV 

Opinions of Teachers on Relative Values of Content and Discipline in 
Courses in Mathematics 





Number of Teachers of 


Opinion 


Elementary 
Algebra 


Plane 
Geometry 


Advanced 
Algebra 


Solid 
Geometry 


Trigo- 
nometry 


Content more important 

Discipline more important 

Content and discipline of 

equal importance 


30 
60 

14 
8 


16 
90 

II 

5 


9 

14 

4 
10 


2 

6 

I 
I 


7 

I 

3 






Total number of re- 
sponses to ques- 
tionnaire 


112 


122 


37 


10 


II 







VI. SUMMARY 

1. Elementary algebra is almost always a first-year high-school 
subject. Plane geometry is markedly a second-year subject, but is 
reported in some schools in the third year, or in the latter half of the 
second year and the first half of the third. Advanced algebra 
appears most commonly in the third and fourth years, but in a few 
schools in the second. Solid geometry appears in the third or fourth 
years and trigonometry in the fourth year. 

2. Elementary algebra and plane geometry extend almost with- 
out exception through a full school year of 36 weeks or more. The 
three advanced courses named are almost always a half-year 
in length. Each week is usually constituted of five 40- or 45- 
minute periods. Some schools report periods of greater length. 

3. Supervised study is reported in a few schools for elementary 
algebra or plane geometry, or both. 



MATHEMATICS 57 

4. Most schools require two years of mathematics for gradua- 
tion, while a small proportion each require none, two and one-half 
years, or three years. Still others vary the requirement with the 
high-school course taken. 

5. Textbooks dominate content and organization of courses in 
mathematics. 

6. There is no standard practice in the disposition of the class 
period as to recitation, study, teaching, and lesson assignment, 
except that a very large number of schools allow no class time, or a 
very small proportion of class time, for study. 

7. The deductive, inductive, and analytic methods are most 
commonly used in class instruction. 

8. Historical notes are introduced into courses in elementary 
algebra and plane geometry in somewhat more than half the 
schools and into the advanced courses in mathematics in approxi- 
mately a third of the schools. They are reported as "humaniz- 
ing," i.e., adding interest to, the work. 

9. More than 60 per cent of the replies report efforts to correlate 
algebra and geometry. The values of such correlation are said to 
be: (i) making the subjects easier of comprehension, (2) teaching 
the unity of mathematics, and (3) increasing the interest in it. 

10. Approximately 60 per cent of the replies report efforts to 
meet current criticisms of high-school mathematics. Such efforts 
are usually constituted of the introduction of "practical" problems, 
problems drawn from the vocations, or problems within the stu- 
dents' experiences. 

11. The aims in the teaching of mathematics usually classify 
under (i) the development of a working knowledge of the subject, 
(2) preparation for subsequent academic work, (3) a stressing of the 
practical values, and (4) free play for the disciplinary values of the 
subject. 

12. Except in the case of trigonometry, most teachers believe 
that the discipline of courses in mathematics is more valuable than 
the content. However, a considerable number of teachers place 
the content value on a level with or superior to the disciplinary 
value. 



CHAPTER IV 

SCIENCE 

A. Sciences Other Than Agriculture 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

The distribution, by states, of the schools from which responses 
to the inquiry in the teaching of the various sciences have come is 
shown in Table XXXVI. The number of responses in physiology 

TABLE XXXVI 

Distribution, by States, of the Schools from Which Responses to the iNQUiRy 
IN the Various Courses in Science Have Come 



States 



NxMBER OF Responses in 



Colorado 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Michigan 

Minnesota. . . . 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

North Dakota. 

Ohio 

Oklahoma 

South Dakpta . 
Wisconsin 



Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 



19 



23 



4 
17 
9 
3 
5 
9 
8 

7 
2 

4 

3 

13 

2 



27 



16 



17 



94 



5 
21 
II 

S 
II 
II 

7 
5 
2 
2 
2 

16 
2 
I 

12 



"3 



12 
62 

31 
12 

23 
32 
20 
16 

7 
8 

7 
41 

5 
II 

27 



314 



is so small as to forbid drawing from them any far-reaching con- 
clusions. As has been stated in chapter i, this small number is 
probably in large part attributable to the small holding this science 
has in high-school programs of study, and this in itself is due to the 

s8 



SCIENCE 



59 



opinions of the school authorities that it is not of sufficient educa- 
tional value, either in itself or as it is usually taught, to justify a 
place for it in the programs. While the number of responses for 
some of the other sciences is not large, they are sufficient to consti- 
tute a fair sample or representation and to support such conclusions 
as are drawn from them. 

II. THE OFFERING 
YEARS IN WHICH SCIENCE COURSES APPEAR 

The years in which the various high-school science courses 
appear are shown in Tables XXXVII and XXXVIII. In the 
former they are represented in gross numbers and in the latter in 
percentages of schools Ksting the subjects in the different years. 
From these tables the following facts are evident: (i) general 
science is almost always Hsted in first year; (2) physiography is 
most commonly a first-year subject, although in some schools it 
appears in the second year, and in a few in years beyond the 
second; (3) the biological sciences are more commonly reported 
for the second year, but are reported by some schools in the first 
year, and in a smaller proportion of schools beyond the second 
year; (4) chemistry is a third- or fourth-year subject with some 
preponderance of practice for the fourth year; (5) physics is also 
a third- and fourth-year subject, but m practice is more markedly a 
fourth-year subject than is chemistry. 

RANGE OE YEARS IN WHICH STUDENTS MAY TAKE THE VARIOUS 
HIGH-SCHOOL SCIENCES 

The facts just presented as to the years in which the study of the 
various high-school sciences appears do not tell all the truth as to 
their place in students' curricula. Some interesting and pertinent 
information as to the range of years during which a student may 
take the several sciences is to be found in the teachers' responses 
to the question, "From what other years may the student elect 
the subject?" These responses have been compiled and are 
reproduced in Table XXXIX. The method of compilation for 
the purposes of this table may be illustrated as follows: if, e.g., a 
teacher listed botany for the second year and stated that it might 



6o 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



also be elected in the third or the fourth year, the answer was classi- 
fied as signifying that the student may take botany in any one of 
three years. Again, if physics was listed in the fourth year and the 

TABLE XXXVII 

Number of the Schools m Which the High-School Sciences Appear in the 

Various Years 



Year or Years in the 
High School 


General 
Science 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 


I 


17 


15 


S 

4 

II 


2 

I 

lO 


4 

I 

9 


I 






T. 2 






2 


I 
I 


I 


I 


I 


2 Z 




■i 




6 


2 

I 


I 
I 


I 
2 


32 

19 

41 


34 
II 


2.4. 




A 








67 


2 Z A ... 




I 




I 2 2 A .... 
















2.6 












X 




No answer. 










I 




















Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 


19 


23 


27 


i6 


17 


s 


94 


IIS 







TABLE XXXVIII 

Percentages of the Schools in Which the High-School Sciences Appear in 

Various Years 



Year or Years in the 
ffigh School 


General 
Science 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 


I 


89.4 


65.2 

4-3 
130 


18. s 
14.8 
40.7 


12. 5 

6.3 

62.5 


23 S 

S-9 

529 


20.0 






12 






2 


S-3 
5-3 


20.0 


I.I 


0.9 






Z 


4-3 


22.2 


12. S 
6.3 


S-9 
5-9 


20.0 
40.0 


33-9 
20.2 

43-S 


30.1 


5.4. 




9-7 


4. 




4-3 




59-3 


2 Z A. 




3-7 






X 1 Z A 




4-3 












2. 6 












I.I 




No answer 




4-3 






5-9 




















Total 


100. 


99-7 


99-9 


100. 1 


100. 


100. 


99.8 


100. 







teacher reported that the student might also take the subject in the 
third year, the answer was understood to signify that the student 
may take physics in that school in either of two years. From the 



SCIENCE 



6i 



table it will be seen that the sciences more commonly listed in the 
earlier years, i.e., general science, physiography, and the biological 
sciences, are elective over a wide range of high-school years in a 
large proportion of schools. That is to say, although listed as 
courses for students in the earlier years, they are open to students 
from the later years of the high school. In other words, advanced 
students may elect courses in science that are manifestly intended 

TABLE XXXIX 

Range of Years est Which Students May Take the Vakiotjs High-School 

Sciences 



Range of Years in Which 
Course May Be Taken 


Courses 


General 
Science 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 


In one year only 

In either of two years. . . . 
In any one of three years. 
In any high-school year . . 
No answer 


4 
6 

3 

5 

I 


lO 

3 

I 

7 

2 


4 

s 

8 
8 

2 


2 
4 
7 

2 

I 


2 

6 
8 

I 


I 
4 


17 
63 

7 


30 
74 




7 


9 




Total 


19 


23 


27 


i6 


17 


5 


94 


"3 





by their listed place to be elementary in nature and appropriate 
to the mental capacity of students in the earlier years. On the 
other hand, the table indicates that chemistry and physics are not 
open to the students in a wide range of years. When with this fact 
is coupled the further one that in only 10 and 4 schools, respectively, 
may students elect chemistry and physics in the second year of the 
high school, we may conclude that these sciences are almost exclu- 
sively conceived of as advanced courses. 



THE TIME ELEMENT 

Length of the courses. — ^The length of the several science courses 
is shown in Table XL. This table indicates that, with the excep- 
tion of physiology, the courses are most commonly a full year in 
length. Biology, chemistry, and physics never extend through 
less than a full school year. General science, physiography, botany, 
and zoology are reported as half-year courses in some schools, while 
the first two named extend in a very few schools through as little as 



62 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



a third of the school year. The offering in chemistry and physics 
in a few schools extends through one and one-half or more years. 

Recitation time per week. — The amount of time devoted to recita- 
tion by the schools reporting on the teaching of all the high-school 
courses in science excepting general science is to be found in 
Table XLL The facts concerning class time in general science 
appear later in this chapter. The table indicates that the time 
spent in recitation in all courses ranges between wide extremes. 
For instance, in physiography, these extremes are o and 225-249 
minutes, while in physics they are 100-124 and 250-274 minutes. 

TABLE XL 

Length of Science Courses 



Length of Course 


General 
Science 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 




I 

2 
16 


2 

6 

14 














i year 


7 
18 


6 
10 


17 


3 

2 






I year 


89 

3 

I 

it 


IIO 


i^ years 


2 


2 years 
















Other lengths of time . . . 






2* 










No answer 




I 








I 


















Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 


19 


23 


27 


16 


17 


5 


94 


113 







* In one school each, 24 and 28 weeks. 

t Three years, "second year for domestic science girls; third year, regular high-school course; fourth 
year for engineers and college credit (advanced standing)." 

The modal practices are fairly well marked in zoology, biology, 
chemistry, and physics. The more common practices are: physi- 
ography, 200-224 and 225-249 minutes; botany, 100-124 Q'lid 
125-149 (usually 120 and 135) minutes; zoology, 125-149 (usually 
135) minutes; biology, 125-149 and 150-174 (usually 135 and 160) 
minutes; chemistry, 100-124 and 125-149 (usually 120 and 135) 
minutes; physics, 100-124 and 125-149 (usually 120 and 
135) minutes. 

Since the length of class periods in high schools is very com- 
monly 40 or 45 minutes, the modal practices just presented indicate 
that, with the exceptions of physiography, in which more time is 
given over to recitation, and in biology, where one of the modal 



SCIENCE 



63 



practices is 150-174 minutes, the modal recitation time in the 
sciences extends through three 40- or 45-minute periods. This is 



TABLE XLI 
Time Devoted to Recitation in Courses in Science 



Recitation Time in Minutes 



Physi- 
ography 



Botany 



ZoSlogy 



Biology 



Physi- 
ology 



Chem- 
istry 



Physics 



o 

so- 74 

75-99 

100-124 

125-149 

150-174 

175-199 

200-224 

225-249 

250-324. . ._ .•-.•••. 

Not answering or giving indefinite 
answers 



Total number of responses to 
questionnaire 



23 



27 



16 



17 



3 

25 

44 

7 

5 

6 

3 



94 



2 

28 
42 

5 
16 

7 
10 

I 



113 



in accord with what appears in Table XLII, which presents the 
number of recitation periods per week in the several courses in 

TABLE XLII 

Number of Recitation Periods per Week in Courses in Science 



Recitation Periods per Week 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
stry 


Physics 




I 














I 




I 
I 










2 




5 
I 

13 


I 




3 
3 

75 
2 

3 

7 

I 


3 


2i . 




I 


^ 


7 


9 

I 


10 

2 

3 

I 


3 
2 


71 


31... 


I 


A 


2 
13 




20 


C 


8 


I 


16 


7 


I 








3 






















Total number of responses to 
questionnaire 


23 


27 


16 


17 


5 


94 


113 







science and shows that the modal practice in number of recitation 
periods is three, except for physiography, where it is five. 



64 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



Laboratory time per week, — The amount of time devoted to 
laboratory work in the schools reporting on the teaching of all the 
several courses in science, excepting general science, is to be found 
in Table XLIII. It is seen that the time spent in laboratory 

TABLE XLIII 

Time Devoted to Laboratory in Courses in Science 



Laboratory Time in Minutes 



Physi- 
ography 



Botany 



Zoology 



Biology 



Physi- 
ology 



Chem- 
istry 



Physics 



25-49 ••••• 

SO- 74 

75-99 

100-124 

125-149 

150-174 

175-199. 

200-224 

225-249 

250-274 

275^299 

300-324 

325-349 

350-374 

400-424 

No answer or answer indefinite . . 

Total number of responses to 
questionnaire 



23 



27 



16 



17 



5 
7 
3 

24 

34 

9 

2 



94 



7 
5 
32 
34 
2 
6 
2 



"3 



ranges between very wide extremes. A comparison of this table 
with Table XLI brings out the fact that the range is greater for 
laboratory than for recitation time. The more common practices 
are seen to be: physiography, no laboratory time; botany, 75-99 
(usually 80 or 90), 150-174 and 175-199 (usually 160 or 180) min- 
utes; zoology, 150-174 and 175-199 (usually 160 and 180) minutes; 
biology, 175-199 (usually 180) minutes; chemistry, 150-174 and 
175-199 (usually 160 and 180) minutes; physics, 150-174 and 
175-199 (usually 160 and 180) minutes. 

Since the lengths of laboratory periods in high schools are very 
commonly 80 or 90 minutes, the modal practices just presented 
indicate that, with the exceptions of physiography, where the modal 
practice is no laboratory time, and botany, where one of the modes 
is 75-99 minutes, the modal laboratory time in the sciences extends 



SCIENCE 



65 



through two 80- or 90-minute periods. This is in accord with 
what appears in Table XLIV, which presents the number of recita- 
tion periods per week in the several courses and shows that the 
modal practice in the number of laboratory periods is two, except 
for physiography, where it is zero. Physiography is thus seen to be 
taught in a large proportion of schools in disregard of current recog- 
nition of laboratory work in the sciences. 

TABLE XLIV 
Number of Laboratory Periods per Week in Courses In Science 



Laboratory Periods per Week 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 


0. 


7 
2 

I 
S 






I 

I 
2 

8 


2 

2 






I 






3 

I 

61 

8 

7 




l| 


15 


I 
II 


19 


2 


62 


2i :;;; 


3 


2 


5* 




I 


I 


6 


51 :::::::::::;:: 


4 


I 
I 


3 
2 

I 
I 


2 

I 
I 


2 




8 
2 

3t 
I 




5 


II 
7 


6 


I 
I 




No answer or no definite answer . 


4 


2 


Total number of responses to 
questionnaires 


23 




Tfi 






94 






27 .. j ., 1 , 


113 


* One reports "3 or 4." 






t One re 


ports "6 


or 7." 







Total time per week. — The total time per week devoted to courses 
in science is shown in Table XLV. One of the striking facts dis- 
covered by this table is the wide range in the total weekly allotment 
of time in these courses. For instance, in physics there is a range 
of from 150-174 (actually i6o) minutes to 500-524 (actually 505) 
minutes, which means that three times as great a time allotment is 
made in the school reporting the latter as in the school reporting the 
former. The range is seen to be as great or almost as great in most 
of the other sciences. 

The modal allotments of time per week for the several sciences 
with the exception of physiology are seen in the table to be as 
follows: general science, 225-249 (usually 225) minutes; physiog- 
raphy, 225-249 (usually 225) minutes; botany, 275-299 and 300- 
324 (usually 280 and 315) minutes; zoology, 300-324 (usually 315) 



66 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



minutes; biology, 300-324 (usually 315) minutes; chemistry, 275- 
299 and 300-324 (usually 280 and 315) minutes; physics, 275-299 
and 300-324 (usually 280 and 315) minutes. 

Since high-school class periods are usually 40 or 45 minutes in 
length, this corresponds to the facts that the more common time 
allotment per week for the first two sciences in this list includes five 
45-minute periods, while for the remaining sciences it includes 

TABLE XLV 
The Total Class Time per Week in Science Courses 



Minutes per Week 



General 
Science 



Physi- 
ography 



Botany 



Zoology 



Biology 



Physi- 
ology 



Chem- 
istry 



Physics 



100-124 

125-149.. 

150-174 

175-199 

200-224 

225-249 

250-274 

275-299 

300-324 

325-349 

350-374 

375-399 

400-424 

425-449 

450-474 

475-499 

500-524 

No answer or answer not 
usable 



3 
3 
3 

22 

38 

4 



6t 



Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 



19 



23 



27 



16 



17 



94 



3 

5 

12 
26 
39 

5 
10 



3 

"sY 



"3 



* Includes time for supervised study. 

t Reported in two cases as providing time for supervised study. 



seven 40- or 45-minute periods or, as has already been shown, 
three 40- or 45-minute recitation periods and two 80- or 90-minute 
laboratory periods. This means (i) that the two sciences that in 
practice are distinctly first-year subjects usually have a smaller 
total amount of time devoted to them than the courses more com- 
monly appearing later, and (2) that this time allotment is equiva- 
lent to that which is almost universal in such academic courses as 
are constituted in no part of work in a laboratory. However, the 



SCIENCE 67 

practice of making a time allotment per week of five 40- or 45- 
minute periods, i.e., total time allotments of 200 and 225 minutes, 
respectively, is not limited to these earlier sciences, as it appears 
also, although proportionately less frequently, in subsequent 
courses. 

Special inquiry was made into the matter of time allotment per 
week in general science. It was found that in but 6 of the 19 
schools from which reports have come are separate periods provided 
for recitation and laboratory work, the recitation and laboratory 
work in the remaining schools both finding place within the same 
period. In one of the 6 schools reporting separate periods they are 
provided during the second half of the course, while in another the 
teacher reported that there was ''no set rule," the nature of the 
work in hand determining this period arrangement from day to day. 
In the remaining 4 schools the total weekly time allotment is three 
single recitation periods and two double laboratory periods. Thus, 
although laboratory work is reported by all teachers of general 
science, it is the usual practice to include it with the recitation 
within the same class period. 

Table XLV shows that some schools make considerably more 
than the modal allotment of time. Although this practice appears 
in all the sciences, it is more common with chemistry and physics. 

As indicated by the footnotes to the table, a number of schools 
report that they provide time for supervised study. The time 
alio ted ranges from 15 minutes in a few schools to a full 60-minute 
period on recitation days in a few others. As this information is 
volunteered by the teachers, it is probable that if investigation had 
been made it would have been found that a larger proportion are 
following this practice. 

III. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSES 
DEVIATIONS PROM PLANS OF TEXTS USED 

The teachers were asked to report important deviations they 
make in their courses from the plans of the texts or the syllabi used. 
In discussing the responses to this question it should first be men- 
tioned that the proportion of teachers reporting the use of syllabi 



68 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



in addition to the textbooks is so small, and that when they are 
reported they are so frequently syllabi prepared by authors to 
accompany their textbooks, that they may be all but disregarded 
in the bearing they may have in the matter of course organization. 
A few reporting the use of syllabi name outlines prepared by 
state authorities. Thus it is the deviations which the teachers 
report that they make from the plans of the texts and not the 
syllabi used that really concern us here in the question of the organi- 
zation of courses in science. 

The facts as to such deviations have been classified as far as 
feasible and are presented in Table XL VI. A large proportion of 

TABLE XLVI 

Deviations from the Plans of the Texts Used in Courses in Science 





Number of Schools 


Kind op Deviations* 


General 
Science 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 


None 


S 
3 
6 

I 
3 
5 


5 
3 
7 
I 

3 

5 


3 
3 

2 

9 

4 
8 


3 

2 

4 

2 
2 
4 


4 

2 

5 
3 

I 
6 


I 

2 
2 


l8 
5 

i8 

21 


29 
9 


Omissions 


Additions 


13 
19 
14 


Changes of order 

Others 


Not answering 


38 




Total number of re- 
sponges to question- 
naire 


19 


23 


27 


i6 


17 


5 


94 


113 







* As some teachers report more than a single type of deviation the addition of the number appearing 
under the several rubrics will be found, except in the case of physiography, to show an excess over the total 
number of responses to the questionnaire. 

teachers have reported that they make no important deviations 
from the plan of the text. To these we may add the even larger 
proportion who make no answer to the question. The classifica- 
tions made of the deviations reported include omissions, additions, 
changes of order, and other deviations, among the last-named being 
counted those kinds of deviation of which relatively small numbers 
appear. 

It is needless for the purposes of this chapter to reproduce here all 
the deviations which all the teachers report for the several courses 
in science. The responses for all the sciences will be illustrated 



SCIENCE 69 

by those that were made by the teachers of chemistry, the course in 
which there seemed to be the largest proportion of most significant 
departures from the plan of the text. Eighteen of the teachers of 
chemistry report that they make no such deviations. To these we 
may add, on account of the almost universal practice of the teachers 
to answer conscientiously all questions in the inquiry blank, the 21 
others who make no answer to this question. We have classified 5 
of the deviations reported as omissions, 25 as additions, 9 as 
changes of order, and have left 18 responses unclassified. Under 
"Omissions" have been placed such answers as: "abbreviation" 
of some parts of the text, "omit gas laws," "do not plan to cover as 
much ground," and ''portions omitted"; under "Additions": "addi- 
tions in theory," "include some practical work" (this or a similar 
answer, e.g., "some chemistry of cooking," "some pure food work," 
"food and water analysis," etc., are made by 17 teachers), reading 
of magazines to follow recent contributions to the text, "intro- 
duce lecture-room experiments— quantitative experiments— special 
themes and problems," "four weeks of qualitative analysis" at end 
of year, "civic aspects" given attention, etc.; under "Changes of 
order": "valence later," "change order widely," "sHght change 
in sequence," "put naming of equation, problems, valence very 
early," "take up molecular and atomic theory earher"; under 
deviations designated as "Others": "third quarter given over to 
domestic science and analysis," "adapt experiments to fit equip- 
ment and conditions," "much written work," "last half-year 
text used for reference only," etc. When one recalls that a very 
large proportion of the teachers of chemistry report no deviations 
whatever and when one bears in mind that the deviations just 
quoted are representative of those reported, he is not long in coming 
to the conclusion that relatively few important deviations from the 
plans of the texts used are made by teachers of chemistry. That 
is to say, the textbooks used determine in all but a small proportion 
of schools the organization of the courses in chemistry. If we now 
revert to the statement made above that chemistry is here being 
used to illustrate the extent of deviation because it is the course 
in science in which there seemed to be the largest proportion of most 
significant departures, it may be said that not only in courses in 



70 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

chemistry, but in all science courses here under consideration, does 
the textbook determine the organization in all but a small proportion 
of schools. 

ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE IN GENERAL SCIENCE 

Twelve of the 19 teachers reporting on the organization of 
courses in general science signify that these consist of brief ele- 
mentary treatments of various sciences. The sciences so used 
and the number of teachers reporting them are as follows: 

Physics 12 Botany 8 

Chemistry 12 Zoology 6 

Physiography 8 Astronomy 5 

Physiology 8 Hygiene i 

The remaining 7 teachers signify that their courses consist of topics 
each of which may use materials from several sciences. This 
distinction is no doubt reflected in the organization and content of 
the textbooks used, since what has been presented above under 
the head of "Deviations from the Plan of the Text Used" points to 
a general procedure of following, without important departures, 
the plan of the text, 

THE COURSE IN BIOLOGY 

The courses in biology seem to range between two extremes of 
type: (a) one in which the course is constituted of two distinct 
parts, one of zoology and the other of botany, and (b) one in which 
the course recognizes no such division and is taught as a coherent 
whole. To the former belong those half-dozen schools in which 
the teachers report that a certain number of weeks, usually a half- 
year, is devoted to one subject and the remainder of the year to the 
other. One of this group reports 1 2 weeks each devoted to biology, 
botany, and human physiology. In these schools two textbooks are 
reported, one for each division of the full course. To the latter 
extreme belong those 7 schools that report no division of time and 
that also report the use of a single textbook in general biology. 
Most of the 4 remaining schools probably follow a practice between 
these two extremes, since they report the use of separate texts, as 



SCIENCE 71 

is done by those of the former group, while at the same time, in 
common with the latter group, they report no division of time. 

IV. METHODS 
THE PLACE OF PRACTICAL ILLUSTRATIONS 

The responses to the question as to the place of practical illus- 
trations, i.e., as to whether they precede, accompany, or follow the 
development of the principle involved, do not represent any clearly 
defined tendency. It would be unprofitable to reproduce here the 
practices reported by all the teachers of all the science courses. 
But to illustrate the diversity of practice a classification of the 
answers made by the teachers of physics will be presented here, 
inasmuch as this science has been the seat of much of the academic 
war that has been waged about this particular question of method, 
and because the proportions of the practices are fairly representative 
of those in other sciences. It is significant that a large proportion 

Practice Reported Number of Teachers 

Precede 16 (6 say "generally") 

Accompany 33 (5 say "generally") 

Follow 12 (2 say "generally") 

Precede or accompany 8 

(i) Precede and follow or 

(2) Precede or follow 4 

(i) Accompany and follow or 

(2) Accompany or follow. . . 16 

Various 16 

Total nimaber answering 
the question 105 

are not satisfied with the use of any one method. Those practices 
enumerated under the last category may be illustrated by the 
following quotations: "vary," "depends upon the subject," "no 
set method," "sometimes one and sometimes another," "no general 
method — applications prompt variation," "no rule can be given — ■ 
depends upon the principle," and "all three." 

The reasons given for following the respective practices do not, 
in general, make a conclusive appeal. Some of these reasons appear 
under all or nearly all the practices reported, as, for instance, 



72 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

"stimulates interest," "better results," "gives an insight into 
principles," etc. Some of the more pertinent answers are quoted 
here. Some of the teachers who precede the development of 
the principle by practical illustrations say: "inductive method 
generally clearest," "pupils are practically unanimous that they 
understand better that way," and "makes the general statement 
concrete and obvious." Some of those who report the practice of 
having the illustrations accompany the development of the prin- 
ciple argue: "enrich classroom discussion," "basis in judgment 
from common experience," "the principle involved is illustrated and 
developed," "our supervised study plan makes this possible." A 
few who have the illustrations follow say: "study the principle, 
then apply it," "students would not get proper benefit from applica- 
tion if they had not first studied the principles," "some experiments 
are better deduced than induced." One who reports that he 
accompanies and follows the development of the principle with the 
illustration says, "accompany to make vital, follow to clinch," 
while another argues, "some better suited to accompany, some to 
follow." One who reports that he precedes or accompanies the 
development with the illustration says that this method "stimu- 
lates independent thinking." Of those who have the illustration 
precede and follow, two say, "familiar illustrations introduce 
more complicated ones follow." 

RELATING THE SCIENCES TO PROBLEMS OF ENVIRONMENT 

One important aspect of the method of teaching the sciences 
is that of relating the subject to problems of environment, such 
as those of agriculture, domestic science, industry, etc. The 
extent to which teachers are utilizing this method is shown later 
under the head of "Aims and Purposes." The practice is men- 
tioned here because of its pertinency and to call attention to the 
fact that the validity of this method is generously recognized by 
teachers of science. 

FIELD TRIPS 

Field or observation trips are being utilized by a very large pro- 
portion of teachers in all science courses, as may be seen in Table 
XLVII. To the very small proportion of teachers reporting 



SCIENCE 



73 



definitely that fi.eld trips do not find a place in their courses may- 
be added a somewhat larger number who do not answer the ques- 
tion. These trips are practically universal in physiography and 
the biological sciences, but somewhat less common in other courses. 

TABLE XLVII 
Number of Teachers Reporiing Field Trips in Courses in Science 



Response 


General 
Science 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 


Reporting field trips 

Reporting "None" 

Not answering 


13 

I 

5 


18 

I 
4 


25 

I 
I 


13 

I 

2 


16 

I 


3 

2 


57 
12 

25 


61 
27 
25 




Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 


19 


23 


27 


16 


17 


S 


94 


"3 





The number of field trips and their time-length range between 
wide extremes. A fair representation of the practices prevailing 
as to number in all the sciences may be indicated by the following 
practices as reported by teachers of physics: 4 report i or "i or 
more"; 9 report 2, "2 or 3," or ''2 to 4"; 25 report 3, "3 or more," 
"3 or 4," 4, 5, or "3 to 6"; 11 report 6 or "about 6"; i reports 
"about 10"; 10 report "few" or "no definite number." The 
general practice may here be seen to range between 2 and 6 trips. 
The time-length of field trips ranges from a half -hour to "all day," 
but most of the trips are covered in from i to 3 hours. 



DISTINCTIVE FEATURES 

Teachers were asked to describe briefly any other distinctive 
features of their courses in science. Those that are considered of 
sufficient importance are quoted here. 

General science. — One school lays special stress on civic duties, 
moral and social obligations. One makes extensive use of state 
and government documents, advertising matter, blueprints, maga- 
zine articles, and material from sources which the pupil will use 
after he finishes the course. This school also shows a preference 
for simple homemade apparatus for performing experiments. One 
school assigns project work according to the special interests of the 



74 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

individual pupils. One encourages and directs home experiment- 
ing. Another makes much use of its lantern-slide demonstration 
of physiography. Another specializes in botany in the spring with 
3 or 4 field trips a week. 

Physiography. — One school reports a thorough study of the 
features of the vicinity. One correlates the work with botany, 
especially on field trips. One reports that after 22 to 24 weeks have 
been devoted to physiography the remainder of the year is given 
over to commercial geography. Another lays emphasis on field 
trips and practical applications. 

Botany. — One teacher says that many voluntary projects are 
carried on and reported by students. One says that pupils supply 
all the living material for the classroom. One emphasizes garden- 
making, raising of mushrooms, and the beautifying of home 
premises. One reports the use of a hothouse and lantern slides. 
Another says that economic plants are mainly chosen for study 
types. 

Zoology. — One teacher says that human anatomy and physiology 
are compared with that of the lower animals. One reports a spring 
course in bird-study, while another reports emphasis on insects 
and birds. One teaches taxidermy. 

Biology. — One teacher introduces lectures in Agassiz, Baird, 
Darwin, Pasteur, Linnaeus, and Fabre. One says that students 
are required to make collections of insects, leaves, seeds, etc. One 
reports practical investigation of milk, water supply, etc. 

Physiology. — The few features here reported as distinctive do 
not merit quotation. 

Chemistry. — 'Five schools report some sort of differentiation of 
the work for boys and girls. One of these mentions courses in 
home-economics chemistry for girls, and in mechanic-arts chemistry 
for boys, in addition to the regular mixed class in "academic" 
chemistry. In another of these schools the boys and girls are placed 
in separate classes during the second semester. In the 3 other of 
these 5 schools the differentiation is made in the laboratory work. 
One teacher refers to the use of federal and state bulletins. Another 
says : "The boys of the advanced class are appointed city inspectors 
of milk, water, and the dairies .... are in fact city officers, but 



SCIENCE 



75 



serve without pay." One reports a science club working along 
civic lines. Another makes amateur photography a part of the 
course. 

Physics. — In physics also there is differentiation for boys and 
girls. In one school separate classes are provided, and in two 
others the differentiation takes place in the laboratory. One 
teacher reports that laboratory apparatus, as far as possible, is 
made by boys in manual training. One reports demonstrations or 
discussions in literary programs. 



V. AIMS AND PURPOSES 

The following aims in science were listed in the inquiry blank, 
and the teachers were asked to check those in which they concur: 
{a) to present a comprehensive and unified organization of the 
subject; {h) to develop the particular quality of intellectual train- 
ing which this subject makes possible; and (c) to relate the subject 
to problems of environment, such as those of agriculture, domestic 
science, industry, etc. The extent to which the teachers of the 
several courses in science have signified their assent to these aims 
is shown in Table XLVIII. 

TABLE XLVin 

Number of Teachers Concurring in the Aims in Science Teaching Listed in 

THE Questionnaire 



Aim 


1^ 


.1 

•a 2 




m 


1 




•s 


i 

U 




3 


(a) 


8 

lO 

14 


13 
19 
17 


13 
20 

19 


9 

9 

12 


10 

8 

IS 


5 
3 
4 


65 

66 
74 


94 
95 

78 


217 
230 
233 


(6) 


(c) 




Total number of responses 
to questionnaire 


19 


23 


27 


16 


17 


5 


94 


"3 


314 



In order better to bring out the significance of the facts, the 
percentages corresponding to the gross numbers appearing in this 
table have been computed and are presented in Table XLIX. In 
this table it will be seen that the proportion of teachers concurring 
in these aims fluctuates considerably from course to course, but 



76 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

there is less fluctuation for aim {c) than for {a) and (&), the pro- 
portion of concurrence in this aim being high throughout. The 
proportion of the total number of teachers of all the courses in 
science seems to be approximately the same, although there is a 

TABLE XLDC 

Percentages of the Teachers Concurring in the Aims in Science Teaching 
Listed in the Questionnaire 



Aim 


General 
Science 


Physi- 
ography 


Botany 


Zoology 


Biology 


Physi- 
ology 


Chem- 
istry 


Physics 


Total 


(«) 

(6) 

w 


42.1 
52.6 
73-7 


S6.S 
82.6 

73-9 


48.1 
74.1 
70.4 


S6.3 
56.3 
750 


S8.8 

471 
88.2 


100. 
60.0 
80.0 


69.2 
70.3 
78.7 


83.2 
84.1 

6SS 


69.1 

73-3 

74.2 



slight tendency to increase assent as we proceed from aim (a) to 
aim (c) . This would be more marked were we to include with those 
concurring in aim (c), as we are probably justified in doing, those 
teachers who, although they did not signify assent to it by checking, 
gave a reason for relating the subject to problems of environment, 
such as agriculture, domestic science, industry, etc. The number 
of teachers so responding is as follows: physiography, 3 ; botany, 4; 
zoology, i; biology, 2; chemistry, 10; and physics, 17. Including 
these in the computation of the percentages of teachers concurring in 
this aim raises these percentages to the following: physiography, 
86.9; botany, 85.2; zoology, 81.3; biology, 100. o; chemistry, 
89.4; and physics, 84.1. The 37 schools thus added to the total 
of all teachers concurring in this aim raises the percentage of the 
total of all teachers of all science courses to 85 . 9, making this aim 
easily the most common of the three listed. 

It is of some significance that a few of the teachers signifying 
assent to aim {a) qualify by erasing the word "comprehensive" or 
by appending this statement: "as far as possible." A few who 
do not assent volunteer the information that this aim is "hardly 
possible in a course for high-school students." 



THE PARTICULAR TRAINING THE STUDY OF THE SCIENCES MAKES POSSIBLE 

The teachers signifying concurrence in aim (6), "to develop the 
particular quality of intellectual training which this subject makes 



SCIENCE 77 

possible," were asked to state what they consider this particular 
trainuig to be. The general trend of the responses will be illus- 
trated here by those made by teachers of chemistry, and these 
responses may be taken to be fairly representative of the other 
sciences (see Table L). Although the answers almost forbid classi- 
fication, a rough grouping is here made. It should be understood 
that some teachers named as many as two or three types of training, 
while a larger number failed to set down any. It will be seen at 
once that, with the exception of the last six categories, these 
answers may all be comprehended under the head of the disciplin- 
ary values of science — the pervasive nature of the training received 

TABLE L 

Number of Teachers Reporting Each of Several 

Types of Training They Believe the Study 

OF Chemistry Gives 

Number of 
Response Teachers 

"Powers" or "habits" of observation 32 

Inductive, deductive, or "independent" reasoning.. 18 

"Logical," "abstract," or "independent" thinking. 13 

Scientific habit of thought 12 

Accuracy 9 

Carefulness 3 

Initiative 2 

Patience 2 

Honesty 2 

Value of self -elimination 2 

Accurate and clear statements (English) 6 

Practical value 4 

Preparation for college 2 

Preparation for vocational work 2 

" Manipulation" 2 

"Information" i 

by the student. For the most part they are couched in phrases 
so long current in the statement of aims in the teaching of science 
and other subjects that they have by now almost become cant and 
are rather generally without definite significance in the minds of the 
teachers reporting. Very few teachers signify that they have ever 
questioned the pervasive nature of this training, as does one teacher 



78 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

of chemistry who reports that the particular training is the scientific 
habit of thought and says: "While aware that it is probably true 
that training of a particular type cannot be transferred for use in 
other types of situations, I am convinced that this principle is not so 
narrow as to apply only to subject-matter. The scientific method 
of attack upon problems .... is appUcable in a host of situations 
which the pupil will encounter in after-life. . . . ." 

FURTHER AIMS IN GENERAL SCIENCE 

Two additional aims were listed in the questionnaire in general 
science: (d) to enable pupils to discover a vocation to which their 
interest and abilities are adapted, and (e) to lay a substantial 
foundation for subsequent courses in science offered in the high 
school. Nine teachers, or 47 . 4 per cent, concur in the former and 
12, or 73 . 2 per cent, in the latter. 

"other definite" aims 

Large proportions of teachers did not respond to the request to 
state any other definite aims than those Hsted in the inquiry blank 
in their modes of handling their subject. The numbers of such 
failures to respond and the ratio of these to the number of responses 
to the questionnaires in the several sciences are: general science, 
10, or 52.6 per cent; physiography, 11, or 47.8 per cent; botany 
5, or 18.5 per cent; zoology, 8, or 50 per cent; biology, 4, or 23.5 
per cent; chemistry, 44, or 46 . 8 per cent; and physics, 60, or 53 . i 
per cent. In view of the generally conscientious manner in which 
teachers have filled out the questionnaires, we cannot be far wrong 
in concluding that these teachers are satisfied with the aims as listed 
in the inquiry. 

Scrutiny of the other aims set down by the teachers in response 
to this request discovers that, with few exceptions, they are such as 
have already been included in the statements above. However, 
those few recommending themselves as most significant and to the 
least extent already covered by such aims as have already been 
stated will be quoted here. One teacher of general science reports 
the aims to give the student an intelligent concern for personal and 



SCIENCE 79 

civic health, A teacher of physiography aims to correlate the work 
with other high-school subjects of study. The following aims in 
botany are reported once each: "to give practical instructions 
in gardening, beautifying home premises, to enlist an apprecia- 
tion and support of movements for improving the environment"; 
"to give a view of the evolution of plant-life"; "to make the 
student understand the life of the plant." One teacher of zoology 
says, "to study the functions of internal organs and compare the 
functions with those of the human body," and another says, "to 
prepare the class for the course in physiology. ' ' Teachers of biology 
report the following: "to relate the subject to problems of health 
and the elimination of preventable diseases " ; "to learn more about 
our own body through a study of all living things " ; "to teach evolu- 
tion." Teachers of physiology give these additional aims: "the 
observance of hygienic laws from a well-grounded knowledge of 
their basis; to train citizens who will fight for needed sanitary 
regulations"; "to take care of the body principally." A few 
teachers of chemistry say: "to arouse a desire for further study." 
One teacher reports the use of the course in physics for purposes 
of vocational guidance. 

VI. SUMMARY 

I. a) The following are the courses in science appearing in high- 
school programs of study: general science, physiography, botany, 
zoology, biology, physiology, chemistry, and physics. General 
science and physiography are most commonly first-year subjects. 
Botany, zoology, and biology are more commonly second-year 
subjects, but sometimes appear in other years. Chemistry and 
physics are both third- and fourth-year subjects, both of them 
appearing more frequently in the latter than in the former year. 
However, physics is in practice more distinctly a fourth-year subject 
than is chemistry. 

h) Although the courses in general science, physiography, 
botany, zoology, and biology are listed for particular years, a large 
number of schools permit their election over a wide range of years, 
so that students from the advanced years of the high school may 
take courses that are specifically intended to be elementary in 



8o ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

character. Chemistry and physics are almost exclusively conceived 
as advanced courses and are open in few schools to students below 
the third year of the high school. 

2. a) Science courses are more commonly a school year in 
length. Courses in general science, physiography, the biological 
sciences, and physiology are sometimes a half-year in length, the 
two exceptions first named extending through a third of a year in a 
very few schools. The offering in chemistry and physics in a few 
schools extends through more than a year. 

b) The modal class time in all the sciences excepting general 
science and physiography is 280 or 315 minutes, allowing for three 
40- or 45-minute periods for recitation and two 80- or 90-minute 
periods for laboratory. For the sciences named as exceptions the 
modal time allotment is 225 minutes, or five 45-minute periods. In 
physiography the modal practice is to provide no laboratory time or 
work, and on this account this course is open to the charge of being 
an "arm-chair" science, whereas in general science in most schools 
the laboratory work is provided for in the recitation period. Many 
schools, of course, provide for less or more time than the modal 
practice reported here. 

c) A number of schools report provision of time for supervised 
study. 

3. a) With no great extent of exceptions the organization of 
the courses in science is determined by the textbooks used. 

b) General-science courses consist either of brief elementary 
treatments of the various sciences or of topics each of which may 
use materials from several sciences. 

c) The courses in biology range in organization from two sepa- 
rate courses, one in zoology and the other in botany, to a single 
coherent course in general biology. 

4. a) There is no agreement as to the proper place of practical 
illustrations, i.e., as to whether these should precede, accompany, 
or follow the development of the principle involved. Many 
teachers follow two or all of the practices. 

5. Field trips are a constituent of most courses in science. 

6. There is fair unanimity of opinion as to the aims that should 
dominate courses in science. 



SCIENCE 8 1 

B. Agriculture 

I, DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY IN AGRICULTURE 

The responses to the inquiry into the status of the teaching 
of agriculture were received from 49 schools distributed as follows : 

State Number of Schools 

Colorado i 

Illinois 5 

Indiana i 

Iowa 3 

Kansas 6 

Michigan 6 

Minnesota 10 

Missouri 6 

Montana 2 

Nebraska 3 

North Dakota 2 

South Dakota , 2 

Wisconsin , 2 

Total 49 

II. THE OFFERING IN AGRICULTURE 

THE EXTENT OF THE OFFERING 

The inquiry in agriculture was so framed as to learn the status 
of the teaching of both general agriculture and specialized courses 
in the subject. A course in general agriculture appears in 26 of the 
49 schools, while specialized courses are reported by 31 schools. 
The offering in 8 schools includes both general agriculture and 
specialized courses in the subject, but in only 3 of these is the 
course in the former a part of the sequence in agriculture extending 
through two or more years. 

The specialized courses appearing are farm crops, animal 
husbandry, soils, horticulture, farm accounts, farm mechanics, 
and farm management. The last two appear sometimes as separate 
courses and sometimes as constituents of the same course. The 
courses classified here do not always bear the names we have 
given them. The courses to which we have given the name farm 
crops are frequently reported as agronomy or field crops. Under 



82 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

the single rubric animal husbandry have been included two courses 
named specifically dairy husbandry and three others reported as 
animal husbandry and dairying. Soils is in a few instances reported 
as soils and fertilizers or soils and soil fertility. Under horti- 
culture have been listed courses given that name as well as those 
reported as vegetable gardening, fruit-raising, or vegetable gar- 
dening and fruit-raising. Farm mechanics is sometimes reported as 
agricultural engineering, and farm accounts as farm bookkeeping. 

The amounts of this specialized work, exclusive of botany (or 
botany and zoology or botany and general science) which appears 
in the sequence of 5 schools, are as follows: 

Number of Years Number of Schook 

I 5 

2 i.... 4 

3 II 

4 II 

These facts indicate that in those schools which offer specialized 
sequences the general practice is to extend them through three or 
four years. 

YEARS OF APPEARANCE 

The years in which the course in general agriculture appears 
were not investigated. In the three schools in which this course 
is reported as a part of the sequence of two or more years of agricul- 
ture, it is reported in the first year of the high school. However, 
the years in which specialized courses in agriculture appear were 
investigated. Table LI shows the results of the compilation of 
the facts. Farm crops is here seen to be most markedly a first- 
year course, although it appears in other years in some schools. 
Animal husbandry is similarly predominantly a second-year course. 
Soils and horticulture do not seem to gravitate toward any single 
year of the high school. Farm mechanics and farm management 
are third- and fourth-year subjects and, when all the figures for them 
as separate and as a single subject are taken into consideration, 
practice tends to recommend them predominantly for the latter. 
Farm accounts appears in third and fourth years. The agricultural 
sequence recommended by practice seems to be this: first year, 
farm crops; second year, animal husbandry; third year, soils 



SCIENCE 



S3 



(one-half) and horticulture (one-half) ; fourth year, farm mechanics 
and farm management. Soils and horticulture are placed in 
third year, not because practice recommends them for this par- 

TABLE LI 

Number of Schools Reporting the Several Years in Which Specialized 
Courses in Agriculture Appear 























1 


1 




£ 


^U 


g 
1 




1 


Year of Appearance 


u 






?, 


^ 


s 


^Is 


3 




1 


■U 




1 


i« 


11 




15 




h 


< 


CO 


M 


(i^ 


(14 


b^ 


Cm 


I 


i6 
9 

2 


2 

19 
9 


I 
4 
4 
4 


3 

4 

3 

2 










2 










a 


4 
2 


4 
5 




2 


4 




8 


2 


Year not stated 






I 
























Number of schools re- 


















porting the courses 


27 


30 


13 


13 


6 


9 


10 


4 



ticular year, but because the other courses are so recommended 
for the years in which they have been listed. This sequence is 
further supported by the usual lengths of the courses, as may -be 
seen in the next section. 



TIME ELEMENT 

Length of the courses. — Table LII indicates the practice as to the 
lengths of the several courses in agriculture : general agriculture is 
much more commonly a full-year than a half-year subject; farm 
crops and animal husbandry are somewhat more often full-year 
than half-year subjects; soils and horticulture are predominantly 
half-year subjects;, farm mechanics and farm management when 
taught separately are more often half-year than full-year subjects, 
and correspondingly are taught as one course, which usually extends 
through a full school year; farm accounts is a half-year course. 

Total time per week. — Table LIII presents the total time per week, 
including both recitation and laboratory, devoted to the several 
courses in agriculture. This seems to be very similar to that obtain- 
ing in other science courses, as shown in Table XLV. It is seen to 
range between wide extremes, but for no course does it in any 



84 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

instance fall below 200 minutes. The more common practices are 
225-249 (usually 225), 275-299 (usually 280), and 300-324 (usu- 

TABLE LII 
Length of the Coukses in Agriculture 





0) 


§ 






2 
3 


■fl 


S 


a So 


M 


Length of Course 


-?.$ 


u 


■^•2 




3 



^ 


S 


^1S 


§ 




g^ 


S 


•ti 


:3 


1 


is 


|S 


i-ss 


P 







1^ 


<; 


en 


S 


tL, 


[2 


£ 


(K 


1 year 


S 
21* 


II 


9 

17 
4 


II 


9 
4 


4 
2 


s 

4 


2 


4 


I year 


16 


2 


8 


Not answering 
































Number of schools ofEer- 




















ing the course 


26 


27 


30 


13 


13 


6 


9 


10 


4 



* One of these reports only 32 weeks. 

TABLE LIII 

Total Time per Week in Courses in Agriculture 



Minutes per Week 


2 

g< 



a 
2 
u 

B 


1 

II 

< 


1 


2 
S 

3 

1 


3 

'a 


g 
1 

a 

a 


uFz* <u 
e « ci 


a 

il 

fa 


1 


200-224 


3 

2 


I 

3 


2 

5 

I 

2 
2 








I 

3 

I 






7 

24 

2 


225-249 


3 


2 


3 


I 


2 


2';o-274 


271;— 200 


S 
S 

I 

3 

I 
I 


4 
8 


2 
2 


5 

I 




I 
I 


I 


19 

22 


'?00-?24 


2 




X2';-XA.Q 


I 


^'>0-^74 




I 














4 


■i7i;— joo 














I 


4XDO— 424. 


I 




I 


I 










4 


42?— 440 












4C0— 474. 




I 

I 

8 


I 

2 

14 


I 
2 

2 


I 
I 

2 


I 


I 






6 


47 c;— 4.0Q 








6 


No answer or answer 
indefinite 


S 




3 


7 


I 


42 






Number of schools 
reporting the 
course. 


26 


27 


30 


13 


13 


6 


9 


10 


4 


T38 







ally 315) minutes. The first of these, distributed in five 45-minute 
periods per week, is reported in such schools as do not provide 
separate laboratory periods or laboratory time equivalent in amount 



SCIENCE 8S 

to that generally considered to be adequate for courses in science. 
Attention is called to the relatively large number of schools reporting 
this amount for animal husbandry and at the same time to the large 
proportion in this subject — almost half of those reporting the course 
— who give no answer or indefinite answers. This is due in large 
part to the fact that in this course larger provision must be and is 
made for observation trips, as will be pointed out under " Methods, " 
p. 86. These observation trips, because of the nature of the course, 
take the place of much of the laboratory work. Their length 
is probably so irregular as to make impossible definite answers 
as to time devoted to the course. The other two practices, 275-299 
(usually 280) and 300-324 (usually 315) minutes, represent con- 
formity to the time allotment, already seen to be common in the 
other sciences, of three single recitation periods of 40 or 45 minutes 
each, and two double laboratory periods of 80 or 90 minutes each. 

ni. ORGANIZATION AND CONTENT OP THE COURSES 

Inquiry was made into the constitution of courses in general 
agriculture. If the general field is separated for this purpose into 
five main divisions, viz., (i) agronomy, (2) animal husbandry, 
(3) horticulture, (4) farm mechanics and farm management, and 
(5) rural sociology, the representation of these constituents in the 
26 courses in general agicrulture is as follows: 

Number of 
Constituents Schools 

(i) and (2) 2 

(i), (2), and (4) I 

(i), (2), (3), and (4) 10 

All... 8 

Omitting some one of the first four constituents. ... 5 

Total 26 

The content of the course in general agriculture is thus seen to be 
very commonly true to name. 

The content of specialized courses in agriculture is to be implied 
in the names given them, and these have already been referred to. 
Some additional information as to this content may be found in 
what is reported under the head of "Practical Exercises," p. 86. 



86 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

IV. METHODS AND EQUIPMENT 
PRACTICAL EXERCISES 

The practical exercises reported for the several specialized 
courses in agriculture by one or more teachers each are named here. 
Inquiry was not made into this aspect of the teaching of the course 
in general agriculture. Although a few of those exercises reported 
may not recommend themselves as intensely practical, for the most 
part they represent a wholesome tendency to relate the courses to 
vocation and life. 

Farm crops: Germination and purity tests for corn and seed 
grains; selecting seed corn in the field; judging corn, grain, forage, 
and roots; variety tests on grains ; work in grain diseases; weed and 
weed-seed identification ; making weed-seed cases and collections of 
weeds and weed seeds; grass-seed identification; seeding lawn; 
pot and plot tests of soils and fertilizers; planning rotations; 
growing crops at home under home-project plan; physical analysis 
of soils; spraying. 

Animal husbandry: Judging livestock (dairy and beef cattle, 
horses, sheep, swine, poultry) ; estimating age of livestock; home- 
project work in caring for farm animals; marketing stock; hoof- 
trimming; care and repair of harness; rope-splicing; dissection 
(veterinary); observation and treatment of animal diseases; 
bacteriological work; forming mock breeding associations; feeding 
of animals; practical application of balanced rations; feeding 
chickens; egg-study; running an incubator; testing milk and 
cream; making butter and cheese; study of creameries; running 
cream separators; keeping herd records. 

Soils: Physical analysis of soils; microscopical examination of 
soil particles; testing soils as to temperature, water-holding, com- 
position, acidity, alkalinity; effect of freezing on soils; drainage; 
soil inoculation; manures; pot, plot, and laboratory tests of 
fertilizers. 

Horticulture: Planting; spray mixing and spraying; grafting; 
budding; pruning; picking, sorting, and judging; garden work; 
home-garden projects; selection of seed potatoes ; practical care of 
truck; study of plant diseases; making collections of destructive 
insects; visits to greenhouses and gardens; "raising of tomato, 



SCIENCE 87 

cabbage, and flower plants in hothouse and cold-frames for sale 
to city people." 

Farm mechanics: Lajdng out complete drainage system with 
level; doing actual ditching; practice in land measurement; draw- 
ing plans for farm buildings; study and operation of gas engines, 
farm and spray machinery, automobiles; setting up machines; 
babbitting; concrete work; rope splicing and knotting; installa- 
tion of weir for local farmers; "making homemade machinery (for 
instance, this class made an Ames hulling and scarifying machine 
and a corrugated concrete roller) .... surveying and planning 
systems for irrigation and for drainage for farmers (5 are in actual 
operation now)." 

Farm management: Keeping records on farms — "as home- 
project each student keeps records and accounts on home farm for 
a period"; accounts of near-by farms; making inventories; esti- 
mating depreciation; planning rotations; labor records, feeding 
records, field records, financial records; "laying out map of coimty 
farm " ; study of actual farm conditions ; " they revise or rearrange 
some farm they are familiar with as one problem." 

Farm accounts: Because so few schools report this course, the 
data on practical exercises are not enlightening enough to warrant 
reproduction here. 

FIELD TRIPS 

Field or observation trips are all but a universal constituent of 
courses in agriculture. Only exceptionally does a teacher report 
that these trips do not find a place in his courses. Furthermore, 
very few teachers fail to answer the question, which is additional 
evidence of the universality of the practice. 

The number of field trips reported varies widely. Although 
it is impossible to tabulate the responses, it may be emphatically 
stated that decidedly more are reported for courses in agriculture 
than for other courses in science. The course for which the greatest 
number are reported is animal husbandry. For this course a single 
teacher reports "none yet." Three teachers fail to answer the 
question. A few teachers report in indefinite terms, as "irregular," 
"taken as needed," etc. The numbers reported for the full- 
year courses in this subject range from "12 or more" to "70-80." 



88 



ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



The time spent in these trips also varies widely. The answers are 
given in such terms that they cannot be tabulated. It may be 
said, however, that they extend from one-half hour to a full day. 
Most of the trips are reported as being compassed in one to three 
hours. 

LABORATORIES 

Of the 49 schools making reports in agriculture, as may be seen 
in Table LIV, 20 report special laboratories for the subject, while 
21 report using some other laboratory. The responses of these 

TABLE LIV 
Laboratories for Agriculture 



Schools Teaching 

Only General 

Agriculture 



Schools Teaching 

Specialized 

Courses 



Totals 



Providing special laboratories. . . 

Using other laboratories 

No laboratories 

Not answering 



4 

ID 



16 
II 

3 

I 



20 

21 

3 

S 



Total. 



18 



31 



49 



schools were also compiled after having been divided into two 
classes, (i) those teaching only general agriculture (18 in number), 
and (2) those teaching specialized courses (31 in number, of which 8 
are also teaching courses in general agriculture), and the resulting 
compilation included in this table. A comparison of the figures for 
these two classes of schools indicates at once that a much larger pro- 
portion of the latter than of the former group provides special 
laboratories for the work. 



THE SCHOOL PLOT OR FARM 

The extent to which the schools provide plots or farms for the 
work in agriculture may be seen in Table LV. When the schools 
are taken as a whole, almost as many make provision for the plot 
or farm as do not, but when the schools are divided into the two 
classes mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, it is seen at once that 
a larger proportion of the group offering specialized courses than of 
the group offering only general agriculture provides the plot or 



SCIENCE 



89 



farm. The contrast is even more striking when the areas of these 

plots or farms are given consideration. The areas of the 4 plots 

reported by schools offering only general agriculture are one-fourth 

of I acre, one-half of i acre (2 schools), and 2 acres. The areas of 

the 16 plots or farms reported by the schools offering specialized 

courses range from "one city lot" to 38 acres, 8 of them being from 

S to 10 acres in area. 

TABLE LV 

School Plots or Farms 





Schools Teaching 

Only General 

Agriculture 


Schools Teaching 

Specialized 

Coiirses 


Totals 


Providing school plot or farm. . . 
Not providing school plot or farm 
Not answering 


4 
II 

3 


16 

13 
2 


20 

24 

s 






Total 


18 


31 


49 







The facts just presented as to laboratory and school plot or 
farm force the conclusion that schools providing specialized courses 
in agriculture make better provision for the work than do schools 
offering only the course in general agriculture. 

The uses to which the 20 schools providing a plot or farm put 
it are shown by the following: 

Number of 
Use Schools 

Demonstration 13 

Experiment 10 

School gardens 12 

As a laboratory for students 12 



V. AIMS 

The teachers were asked to state whether they are teaching 
agriculture as a vocational or as a "general" high-school subject. 
The term "general" is here used with no special reference to what 
we have been calling the course in general agriculture, but as con- 
trasted with vocational, and signifies that the subject is dominated 
by the same aims that dominate the usual non-vocational high- 
school subject of study. The totals at the foot of Table LVI 
indicate that in 15 schools the subject is taught as a general subject; 



90 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

in 20, as a vocational subject; and in 12, as both general and voca- 
tional. The table also indicates that in the schools teaching 
general agriculture only the vocational aim is not as commonly 
recognized as is the general, whereas in the schools teaching special- 
ized courses, either as the whole or as a part of the offering, the 
vocational aim is predominant. 

TABLE LVI 

Number of Schools Teaching Agriculttjue as a General High-School Subject, 
AS A Vocational Subject, or Both 





Taught 

as a General 

Subject 


Taught as a 

Vocational 

Subject 


Taught as 
Both General 
and Voca- 
tional 


No Answer 


Total 


Schools reporting general 
agriculture only 

Schools reporting special- 
ized courses only 

Schools reporting both 
general agriculture and 
specialized courses 


10 
4 

I 


I 
14 

s 


6 
4 

2 


I 
I 


18 

23 

8 






Total 


15 


20 


12 


2 


49 





The recognition of the vocational aim makes pertinent the 
presentation of facts concerning the proportion of young people 
from the farm. Of the 49 teachers responding, 36 made usable 
replies to the inquiry in this matter. For these 36 schools the 
percentage of boys from the farm ranges from 0(1 school only) to 
75.0, with an average of 34.4; the percentage of girls from the 
farm ranges from o (15 schools) to 68.66, the average being 18.9; 
the percentage of both boys and girls from o to 100, the average 
being 53 . 4, somewhat more than half. Of these 36 schools, 13 teach 
agriculture as a general high-school subject, 17 as a vocational 
subject, and 6 as both general and vocational. The percentages 
of boys from the farm, girls from the farm, and. both boys and girls 
from the farm for each of these three groups of schools, with those 
percentages already reported from the schools as a whole, are 
presented in Table LVII. From these percentages we may draw 
the following interpretations: (i) The percentage of boys from 
the farm is larger in the classes in agriculture in those schools in 



SCIENCE 



91 



which the vocational aim is given recognition than in those in 
which it is taught as a general high-school subject; (2) the per- 
centage of girls from the farm is larger in the classes in agriculture 
in those schools in which it is taught as a general high-school subject 
than in those in which the vocational aim is given recognition ; and 

TABLE LVII 

Average Percentage of Boys and Girls from the Farm in 
Classes in Agriculture 



When Taught 

as a General 

High-School 

Subject 



When Taught as 

a Vocational 

Subject 



When 

Taught as Both 

General and 

Vocational 



For all Schools 

Making Usable 

Replies 



Average percentage of boys 
from the farm 

Average percentage of girls 
from the f arn 

Average percentage of both 
boys and girls from the 
farm 



27.6 
30-3 

57-9 



38.3 
10. o 

48.3 



38.2 
19.7 

57-9 



34-4 
18.9 

53-4 



(3) the total percentage of both boys and girls from the farm seems 
to be somewhat larger in the classes in agriculture in those schools 
in which it is taught as a general high-school subject, this being 
due to the relatively large percentage of girls from the farm as 
reported in (2), 

VI. SUMMARY 

1. The offering in agriculture varies greatly in amount, from a 
single course in general agriculture to a specialized sequence 
extending through four years. Some schools offer both general 
agriculture and one or more specialized courses. The sequences 
are usually three or four years in length. The courses appearing in 
the sequences are one or more of the following: farm crops, animal 
husbandry, soils, horticulture, farm mechanics and farm manage- 
ment, and farm accounts. 

2. Farm crops appears more frequently in the first year of the 
high school than in other years. Animal husbandry is most 
frequently a second-year subject. Soils and horticulture are not 
definitely recommended by practice for any year. Farm mechanics 
and farm management are more commonly found in the fourth 



92 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

year. Farm accounts appears with equal frequency in the third and 
fourth years. 

3. a) The lengths of most of the courses have not been definitely 
fixed in practice. They vary between half-year and full-year 
courses. General agriculture, farm crops, animal husbandry, 
and farm mechanics and farm management are more commonly 
full-year courses, whereas soils, horticulture, and farm mechanics and 
farm management are more commonly half-year subjects. Farm 
accounts seems always to extend through a half-year. 

h) The practice as to time per week allotted to courses in agri- 
culture does not differ essentially from that which obtains in other 
science courses. 

4. Courses in general agriculture are usually true to name, the 
content being drawn from all the main divisions of agriculture. 

5. There is a wholesome tendency through the introduction of 
practical exercises to relate the courses in agriculture with vocation 
and life. 

6. Field trips are a prominent constituent of courses in agri- 
culture. 

7. Schools offering specialized courses in agriculture more fre- 
quently provide special laboratories and school plots or farms than 
do schools offering only general agriculture. 

•*^^ 8. The courses in agriculture are taught with approximately 
equal frequency as vocational subjects and as general high-school 
subjects. 



CHAPTER V 

HISTORY AND THE OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 

A. History 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

The distribution, by states, of the schools from which responses 
to the inquiry in the teaching of the various courses in history have 
come is shown in Table LVIIL This table does not include three 

TABLE LVIII 
Distribution, by States, of the Schools from Which Have Come Responses 

TO THE InQUTRY IN THE VARIOUS COURSES IN HiSTORY 





Number of Responses in 


State 


Ancient History 


Mediaeval 

and Modern 

History* 


English History 


American 
History 


Total 


Colorado 




I 
8 
4 
4 
I 
8 
2 

7 

I 
I 


I 

3 

2 

I 


4 
18 

13 
8 
6 

13 

2 

II 


6 

44 
26 
16 


Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 


15 
7 
3 
4 
8 

5 
8 

2 
2 


Michigan .... 
Minnesota. . . 

Missouri 

Montana 


I 
2 
2 


30 

II 

28 

3 

7 


Nebraska 

North Dakota 


I 
I 
3 


3 

I 
10 

I 

3 
II 


Ohio 

Oklahoma. . , . 


II 

I 
I 
4 


9 


33 


South Dakota 


4 
2 




8 


Wisconsin 




17 






Total. . . . 


71 


52 


17 


104 


244 



* With these have been included 6 reports on modem history. 

reports in general history, one in Hebrew history, and one report 
each in separate courses in Greek and Roman history, to which, 
on account of their small number, no further reference is made in 
this chapter. 

93 



94 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

II. THE OFFERING IN HISTORY 
EXTENT OF OFFERING 

All but one of the 163 different schools from which responses 
to the inquiry in history have come have complied with the request 
to set down their history sequences. These offerings in history, 
exclusive of civics and economics, extend through from i to 4 
courses, as follows: i school offers a single course, 9 schools offer 2 
courses, 98 schools offer 3 courses, 54 schools offer 4 courses. 

The school offering but a single course reports it as ancient 
history. Of the 9 schools offering 2 courses, 5 offer ancient and 
mediaeval and modern history, 2 offer ancient and American, i offers 
general and American, and i English and American. The offering 
in the 98 schools reporting 3 courses is as follows : 79 offer ancient, 
mediaeval and modern,^ and American, and 19 schools offer ancient, 
English, and American. All the 54 schools reporting 4 courses offer 
ancient, mediaeval and modern,^ EngHsh, and American history. 

YEARS IN WmCH THE COURSES APPEAR 

The years in which the courses in history appear, as indicated 
in the responses, are presented in Table LIX. The facts are in 
brief these: ancient history appears almost an equal number of 
times in the first and second years, with only a few schools listing 
it for the third year; mediaeval and modern history appears with 
almost equal frequency in the second year and in the third year, 
very few schools listing it for the fourth year; English history is 
predominantly a third-year subject, with a sprinkling in other 
years; American history is almost always reported for the fourth 
year, although a few schools list it for the third and one school for 
the first year. 

The teachers were asked to state what aspects of the various 
subjects as they are taught recommend them for the years for which 
they are reported. The answer most commonly given for the place 
of ancient history is its position in the chronological sequence in 
the historical field; many teachers seem to believe that the study 

^ A few of these report modern instead of mediaeval and modem history, but for 
convenience they have been included here. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 



95 



of history must be begun at the beginning of recorded history. A 
number of teachers speak of ancient history as being easier of com- 
prehension than subsequent courses: "the easiest of all history 
courses," "the relative simplicity of government and other insti- 
tutions prior to Rome," "the story element in oriental history and 
the biographical character of Greek and Roman history." Others 
say that it is suited for this place because of its foundational relation 
to other subjects, e.g., Latin, art, and English. Eight teachers 
recommend it for second-year work because it is "too difficult for 
Freshmen." Other answers are less significant. 

TABLE LIX 

Number of Schools Reporting Various Years in Which the Courses in 

History Appear 



Year or Years ia High School 


Ancient History 


Mediaeval 

and Modem 

History 


English History 


American 
History 


I 


33 
29 

S 
4 




2 

I 


I 


2 


25 




1,2 




a 


23 

I 
2 

I 


II 


5 


2. ? 


A 




I 
I 
I 


96 

2 


%, A. 




2, ^,4 














Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 


71 


52 


17 


104 





Mediaeval and modern history, also, is recommended by many 
teachers for the years in which it commonly appears because 
of its place in chronological sequence: "mediaeval and modern 
should follow ancient history," "mediaeval and modern should come 
between ancient and American," "mediaeval and modern should 
be given in the second year as preparation for later history." 
Several teachers speak of the advantages it offers for correlation with 
the English literature that usually appears in these years. Eight 
teachers listing it as a third-year subject mention the maturity 
desirable for its adequate comprehension. Other answers are less 
significant and less frequent. 



96 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

English history is recommended by the teachers for its usual 
place in the third year because of its position in chronological 
sequence. Frequent answers are: "it should follow mediaeval 
and precede American history," and "it should precede American 
history." Correlation with English literature is also given as a 
reason for its place here. 

American history, also, is very commonly recommended for its 
place in the fourth year by its position in chronological sequence: 
"it should follow mediaeval and modern and English history," 
"culmination of all previous history," etc. However, another 
very common recommendation appears among the answers: the 
need of civic training for the student soon to be graduated. Other 
answers refer to the maturity needed for its proper comprehension, 
the desirability of separating it from the American history of the 
elementary school, its required place in high-school normal-training 
courses, and the opportunity ojffered of correlating it with the 
American literature appearing in this year. 

TIME ELEMENT 

Weeks in the courses. — With 8, 3, and 3 exceptions, respectively, 
courses in ancient, mediaeval and modern, and English history are a 
full year of not less than 36 weeks in length. The exceptions are: 
ancient history: 17 weeks, i school; 18 weeks, 2 schools; "24-36 
weeks," i school; 33 weeks, i school; 34 weeks, 3 schools; mediae- 
val and modern history: 18 weeks, 2 schools; 34 weeks, i school; 
English history: 18 weeks, 3 schools. It is probable that teachers 
reporting 33 and 34 weeks have subtracted time set apart for 
semester or other examinations. Of the 104 schools from which 
responses on American history were received, 19 report half-year 
courses of 18-20 weeks in length, 79 report a full-year course of 36 
or more weeks, and i school each reports courses of 24, 25, 26, 27, 
28, and 7,s weeks. This marked diversity of practice will be par- 
tially explained later under the head of "Organization of the 
Course in American History." It may be said in passing that 
the diversity is more seeming than real and grows out of 
variation between two extremes of practice — one of presenting 
American history and government as separate courses, and the 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 



97 



other of presenting them as coherent constituents of a single 
course. 

Periods per week. — ^The number of periods per week devoted 
to courses in history is almost always five. The exceptions are: 
in ancient history, 3 schools report four periods and i reports seven 
periods; in mediaeval and modern history, i school reports four 
periods; in English history, i reports four periods; and in Ameri- 
can history, 2 report four periods and i reports seven periods. 

Length of periods. — The length of periods for classes in history is 
shown in Table LX. Almost no schools provide periods less than 

TABLE LX 

Number of Schools Reporting Various Lengths or Class Periods 
FOR Courses in History 



Length of Period in Minutes 



Ancient History 



Mediaeval 

and Modem 

History 



English History 



American 
History 



35 

37 

40 

41 

4^ 

43 

45 

5° 

55 

60 

65 

80 

No answer . 



26 



I 
19 



32 

2 
2 
5^ 



26 

2 



It 



2 
38 



44 
5 
3 

4 

I 

it 



Total number of re 
sponses to question- 
naire 



71 



52 



17 



104 



* Two of these report supervised study during half the period, 
t Supervised study during half the period. 



40 minutes in length, while all but a very few schools provide periods 
from 40 to 45 minutes in length. It is deserving of notice that 
at least 4 schools provide time for supervised study, 3 of them during 
a 30-minute, and the fourth during a 40-minute, period. 



ni. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE IN AMERICAN HISTORY 

The only course in history concerning whose organization and 
content a direct question was put was American history. The 



98 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

question read: "If American history is taught as a part of a course 
in American history and government, what fractional part of the 
course is devoted to each?" Twenty-eight teachers report defi- 
nitely that they do not make government a part of the course in 
American history. Of these 28, 19 are those specified under "Weeks 
in the Courses" (on p. 96) as reporting a half-year in the sub- 
ject. In all but 2 of these 19 cases the half-year course in American 
history is followed by a separate half-year in government or civics. 
The remaining 9 of this group of 28 may be understood to exclude 
special and distinct recognition of work in government from their 
courses in American history. 

The remaining 72 who answer this question'^ signify that their 
courses are made up in some part of work in government. The 
fractional part devoted to the two aspects of the courses may be 
seen in Table LXI. Thirty-one of the 36 who are tabulated as 
devoting one-half to three-fifths of the total time to history, or 43 
per cent of the 72 schools here concerned, divide the time equally 

TABLE LXI 

Proportional Distribution op Time Devoted to 
History and Government in Courses in American 
History and Government in Schools Reporting 
These as Constituents of a Single Course 



NnuBER OF Schools 



36. 

27. 

9- 



Proportion of Tna: Devoted to 



History 



2-4 



Government 



^-2 



between history and government, whereas all the remaining 41 
schools devote from somewhat more than one-half to five-sixths of 
the total time to history and one-sixth to somewhat less than one- 
half the time to government. 

The facts appearing here may be summarized as follows : courses 
in American history range between two extremes of practice, one 
typified by such schools as constitute them in no special part of 

' Two of the 104 teachers did not answer this question and the answers of 2 others 
were indefinite. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 



99 



government, and the other by those that divide the time equally 
between history and government. The schools approximating the 
latter extreme follow either the practice of making the work in 
history and government coherent parts of a single course or that 
of separating the work into two distinct courses, one of which is 
American history and the other government or civics. 



rv. METHODS 



HOW TEXTBOOKS ARE USED 



Four modes of using the textbooks were listed in the ques- 
tionnaire, and the teachers were asked to signify which of these 
modes they were following. These modes were listed in the order 
of decreasing dependence upon the text and were as follows: (i) "as 
the main body of the course with little or no collateral reading," 
(2) "as basis of assignments to be supplemented by required 

TABLE LXII 

Number of Teachers of History Following the Various Methods of 
Using the Textbook Listed in the Questionnaire 



Mode of Use 



Ancient History 



Mediaeval 

and Modern 

History 



English Histoiy 



American 
History 



(I) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) ,.... 

Some combination of (i), 
(2), (3), or (4) 

Not answering or not answer- 
ing definitely 



19 

44 
3 

I 



7 
40 

I 



2 
10 

I 



18 

67 

5 

S 

3 
6 



Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 



71 



52 



17 



104 



collateral readings," (3) "as an outline or syllabus in connection 
with collateral readings," and (4) "on the same basis as other 
readings of the course." The facts appearing in compilation of the 
responses are set forth in Table LXII, which shows the numbers of 
teachers reporting the various uses listed. In order better to 
bring out the significance of these facts, they have been computed 
in percentages and reproduced in Table LXIII. On account of the 



lOO ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



relatively small number of responses to the inquiry in English his- 
tory, too much importance should not be attributed to the figures 
for that subject. Mode (2) is most commonly used in all courses. 
It appears, however, that there is a somewhat greater tendency 
to follow mode (i) in ancient history than in subsequent courses. 

TABLE LXIII 

Percentages of Teachers of History Following the Varxoits Methods of 
Using the Textbook Listed in the Questionnaire 



Mode of Use 



Ancient History 



Mediaeval 

and Modem 

History 



English History 



American 
History 



(l). 
(2). 



(3) 

Some combination of (i), 

(2), (3), or (4) 
No answer 



26.8 

62.0 

4.2 

1-4 

5-6 



13s 

76.9 

1.9 



II. 8 

58.8 

S-9 



5-7 
1.9 



17.6 
5-9 



173 

64.4 

4.8 

4.8 

2.9 
5-8 



Corresponding to this is the less apparent tendency to follow mode 
(2) in mediaeval and modern history and in American history. 
The percentages using modes (3) and (4) in all courses are notably 
small. In general, it may be said that, although there is some 
tendency in the later courses to place less dependence on the text- 
book, this tendency is not as marked as one could be led to expect 
in view of the greater maturity of the student. 

COLLATERAL READING 

Amount of collateral reading. — In order to make readily com- 
parable the amounts of required collateral reading as reported by 
the teachers, they were reduced to the uniform basis of the number 
of pages per semester. The resulting computations appear in 
Table LXIV. It will be seen that very few teachers report defi- 
nitely that they require no collateral reading. Perhaps we are 
justified in adding to these few those 18 teachers of ancient history, 
9 of mediaeval and modern history, 3 of English history, and 18 of 
American history who fail to answer the question. The table 
indicates that the amounts of reading required vary between wide 
extremes and that there are no marked modal practices. The 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 



lOI 



median amounts of collateral reading as reported by those teachers 
making definite replies are as follows: ancient history, 250 pages 
per semester; mediaeval and modern history, 250 pages per 
semester; English history, 275 pages per semester; American 
history, 350 pages per semester. These figures indicate that there 

TABLE LXIV 

Approximate Amount of Collateeal Reading in Pages per Semester 



Number of Pages 



NtJMBER OF Schools Reporting for 



Ancient History 



Mediaeval 

and Modern 

History 



English History 



American 
History 



None 

25 

SO 

75 

100 

120 

150 

180 

200 

250 

300 

35° 

400 

450 

500 

600 

700 

750 

800 

Qbo 

1,000 

i,Soo 

1,800. 

3,500 ; 

Not answering 

Answers in terms not usable 

Total number of re- 
sponses to question- 
naire 



4 

10 

2 



18 

4 



18 
9 



71 



52 



17 



104 



is a tendency to increase the amount of collateral reading from the 
earlier to the later courses, although the difference is not as great as 
one is led to expect in consideration of the increasing maturity of the 
student. 

Kinds of collateral reading. — ^The following kinds of collateral 
reading were listed in the inquiry in history, the teachers being 



102 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



directed to indicate, by checking, those they require of their 
students: other texts, more extended works, source material, 
biography, historical fiction, poetry, magazines, and newspapers. 
The percentages of teachers reporting use of these various kinds of 
reading supplementary to the text are presented in the accompany- 
ing table (LXV). The most common kinds of collateral reading 
are the other texts, more extended works, source material, biog- 
raphy, and periodicals. While the proportion of the teachers 
reporting the use of other texts is smaller, the proportion of those 
reporting the use of more extended works and source material is 
larger for the later than for the earlier courses. Biography also 

TABLE LXV 

Percentage of Teachers of History Reporting Various Kinds of 
Collateral Reading 



Kind of Reading 




Mediaeval 






and Modera 


English Histoiy 


History 




69.0 


471 


71.2 


64 


7 


73-1 


88 


2 


63s 


76 


5 


38.7 


35 


3 


19.2 


23 


5 


76.9 


64 


7 


75 


47-1 



American 
History 



Other texts 

More extended wajrks 
Source materiaL .... 

Biography 

Historical fiction .... 

Poetry 

Magazines 

Newspapers 



60.6 
85.6 
81.7 
82.7 
40.4 
18.3 
85.6 
70.2 



tends to become a somewhat more common constituent of the later 
courses. The representation of historical fiction is fairly uniform 
throughout, although slightly more common in American history 
than in other courses. Poetry is a prominent constituent of the col- 
lateral reading in none of the courses. Magazines and newspapers 
seem to receive more attention in mediaeval and modern history 
and in American history than in the other two courses, probably 
because of the availability of contemporaneous material in period- 
icals for the more modern aspects of these courses. 

Modes of testing collateral reading. — The following modes of 
testing collateral reading were listed in the inquiry, and the teachers 
were asked to check those of which they make use : oral reports in 
class, discussions in class, quiz in class, written examinations or 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 



103 



tests, written reports, themes, notebooks, and outlines or digests 
handed in. The compilations of the answers appear in Table LXVI. 
In the right-hand column are to be found the total numbers of 
teachers reporting the use of each of these methods. Oral reports 

TABLE LXVI 

Number of Teachers Reporting Use of Certain Modes of Testing 
Collateral Reading 



Mode of Testing 



Ancient 
History 



Mediaeval 

and Modem 

History 



English 
History 



American 
History 



Total 



Oral reports in class. . . 
Discussions in class. . . . 

Quiz in class 

Written examinations or 

tests 

Written reports 

Themes 

Notebooks 

Outlines or digests handed 

in 

Total number of re- 
sponses to ques- 
tionnaire 



64 
48 

22 

27 

31 

24 

39 

25 



44 
34 
22 

17 
22 
16 
30 

19 



IS 

12 

8 

9 
6 

4 
10 



95 

75 
54 

50 
54 
27 
61 

47 



71 



52 



17 



104 



218 
169 
106 

103 

"3 

71 

140 

95 



244 



in class are very generally used, with discussions in class and the 
use of notebooks next in order. The remaining methods — written 
reports, quiz in class, written examinations or tests, outlines or 
digests handed in, and themes — although frequently reported, are 
not in as common use as those already named. 

correlation 

The following subjects of study were listed in the questionnaire, 
and the teachers were asked to indicate with which of them they 
make consistent efforts to correlate their work in history: English 
composition, English literature, geography, civics, political 
economy, Latin, current events, sciences, art and architecture, 
drawing, spelling, and penmanship. The results of the computa- 
tions of the percentages of the teachers of the various history courses 
who make such efforts to correlate their work with the subjects 
named appear in Table LXVII. The correlation of history with 
geography and current events is notably high for all courses, 



104 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



although, of course, the correlation of ancient history with current 
events is not, and cannot be expected to be, as high as for other 
history courses. Correlation with English composition is fairly 
high throughout, while that with English literature is not high, 
except, of course, in the case of English history. Correlation 
with civics becomes increasingly prominent from course to course 
until in American history it becomes almost the universal practice. 

TABLE LXVII 

Percentage of Teachers Reporting Efforts to Correlate History 
WITH Other Subjects 



Subject with Which History 
Is Correlated 

English composition 

English literature 

Geography 

Civics 

Political economy 

Latin 

Current events 

Sciences 

Art and architecture 

Drawing 

Spelling 

Penmanship 



Ancient History 



Mediaeval 

and Modern 

History 



English History 



American 
History 



52. 1 

29.6 
7,6.1 

47-9 
29.6 

42.3 
70.4 
21. 1 

57-9 
16.9 
74.6 
52.1 



36.5 
46.2 

75.0 
63.5 
44.2 

17.3 
9^.3 
19.2 

42.3 
"5 
50.0 

42.3 



58.8 
88.2 



82 
64 
35 
35 
100 

23 

47 

29.4 

70.6 

64.7 



Correlation with political economy is not high until American 
history is reached. As is to be expected, the correlation with 
Latin is highest for ancient history. The sciences and drawing 
do not share in this effort to a great extent in any course in history. 
Art and architecture receive considerable attention in the first three 
courses, but suddenly drop to an almost negligible position in 
American history. Spelling and penmanship seem to be fairly 
strong correlates in all courses. 



METHODS and DEVICES USED TO SECURE QUALITATIVE RESULTS 

A large proportion of teachers fail to make answer to the 
question as to methods or devices which they have found notably 
effective in securing qualitative results. Those most commonly 
mentioned are: trips and visits to museums, meetings of city 
council, etc.; pictures, stereopticons, maps, charts, and clippings; 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 



lOS 



emulation; comparison of different authors; reviews and sum- 
maries; notebooks; outlines; debates; oral and written tests; 
and supervised study. 



AIMS 



The aims listed in the questionnaire and the percentages of the 
teachers of each of the courses who have signified their concurrences 
in them will be found in Table LXVIII. Aims (2), (6), (7), (9), 



TABLE LXVIII 

Percentage of Concurrence of Teachers of History in Aims Listed 

IN the Inquiry 



Aims 



1 . To master the text . . . 

2. To cultivate the power 
of handUng facts 

3. To develop the spirit of 
nationalism 

4. To cultivate "recon 
structive imagination". 

5. To equip the student 
with a store of historical 
information 

6. To develop the "faculty 
of discrimination" 

7. To promote good citizen- 
ship 

8. To develop ability in 
speech, oral and written 

9. To inspire with a love of 
reading 

10. To teach the use of books 



Ancient History 



59-2 
8S-9 
42.3 
59-2 

62.0 

67.6 

73-2 

76.1 

634 
74.6 



Mediaeval 

and Modem 

History 



44.2 
78.9 
40.4 

SS.8 

65-4 

7S-0 

69.2 

65-4 

7S-0 
82.7 



English History 



52.9 
82.4 
47.1 
82.4 

64.7 

94.1 

70.6 

58.8 

70.6 
82.4 



American 
History 



46.2 
81.7 
70.2 
59-6 

57-7 
82.7 

93-3 
76.0 

63 S 
74.0 



and (10) are assented to by very large percentages of teachers for 
all courses, aim (7) becoming all but universal with teachers of 
American history. Aim (i) is concurred in by a larger proportion 
of teachers of ancient history than of teachers of other courses, 
which appears to conform to the tendency, noted above under 
the head "How Textbooks Are Used," of a large percentage of the 
teachers of this course to use the textbook as the main body of the 
course with little or no collateral reading. Aim (3) naturally leaps 
into prominence in the course in American history, after haying only 



io6 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

a fair holding in preceding courses. Aim (5) is considered a valid 
one by approximately three-fifths of the teachers in all courses. 
Aim (8) is generously subscribed to by teachers of all courses, 
but more especially by teachers of ancient history and American 
history. 

VI. SUMMARY 

1. Most schools offer 3 or 4 courses in history, exclusive of the 
courses in civics and economics. The 4 courses offered are ancient, 
mediaeval and modern, English, and American history. When 
3 courses are offered, either- jthe second or third just named is 
omitted, more commonly the third. 

2. With few exceptions ancient history appears in the first 
and second years, mediaeval and modern history in the second and 
third, English history in the third, and American history in the 
fourth. The principal reasons given for placing these courses in the 
years in which they appear are those related to chronological 
sequence. American history is placed in the fourth year so as to 
furnish the student with some civic equipment when he is about 
to leave school. 

3. a) History courses are commonly a full year of 36 or more 
weeks in length, although a few courses in English history and a 
large number in American history are a half-year in length. There 
are most commonly five 40- or 45-minute class periods per week. 

b) A few schools are providing time for supervised study. 

4. Courses in American history range between two extremes 
of practice, one typified by such schools as constitute them in no 
special part of government, and the other by those that divide the 
time equally between history and government, these two phases 
sometimes being coherent parts of a single course and sometimes 
two distinct courses. 

5. a) The textbook is more commonly used as the basis of 
assignment to be supplemented by required collateral reading, 
although a considerable proportion of teachers still use it as the 
main body of the course, with little or no collateral reading. More 
teachers of ancient history than of other courses follow the latter 
mode of use. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 107 

b) The amount of collateral reading varies somewhat with the 
place of the course in the history sequence, more of such reading 
being required for the later than for the earlier courses. 

c) The kinds of collateral reading are: other texts, more 
extended works, source material, biography, historical fiction, 
poetry, magazines, and newspapers. The first class named is more 
often used in the earlier than in the later courses, while more 
extended works, source material, and biography are more often 
used in the later courses. 

d) The methods of checking collateral reading are: oral 
reports, discussions and quizzes in class, written examination and 
tests, written reports, themes, notebooks, and outlines or digests 
handed in. 

6. Correlation of history is reported with English composition, 
English literature, geography, civics, political economy, Latin, 
current events, sciences, art and architecture, drawing, spelling, 
and penmanship. It seems to be most common with English com- 
position, geography, civics, current events, spelling, and penmanship. 

7. There is fairly general agreement as to the aims teachers 
keep prominent in their teaching. 

B. Civics 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

The responses to the inquiry in civics have come from 29 
teachers in schools distributed as follows: 

State Number of Schools 

Colorado i 

Illinois 4 

Iowa 3 

Kansas 2 

Michigan i 

Minnesota 2 

Missouri i 

Montana 2 

Nebraska i 

Ohio 6 

South Dakota 2 

Wisconsin 4 



Total. 



29 



io8 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



II. THE OFFERING 
YEARS IN WHICH CIVICS IS TAUGHT 

The years of the high school in which civics is taught appear 
in Table LXIX. It is seen to be predominantly a fourth-year 
subject, although some schools list it for the third and a very few 
for one of the first two years of the high school. 

TABLE LXIX 
Years in Which the Course in Civics Appears 

Year or Years Number of Schools 

First I 

Second 2 

Third 2 

Fourth 18 

Third or fourth 4 

First and fourth i 

Second year of junior high school (eighth grade) ... i 

Total 29 

The responses to the question as to the aspects of the subject 
as it is taught that recommend it for the years in which it is reported 
are so few and insignificant for years other than the fourth that 
none are quoted here. Eight teachers say that the fourth year 
is a satisfactory place for the course because of the desirability 
of correlating it with American history, which appears in the same 
year, while 7 say that it should be taught in this year because of the 
maturity required for its adequate comprehension. Other re- 
sponses less frequently made refer to "final preparation for citizen- 
ship" and to its relation to political science. 

civics as a separate course or as a part of the course in AMERICAN 

HISTORY 

Of the 29 teachers replying, 20 report civics as a separate sub- 
ject, although 5 teachers volunteer the information that it follows 
a semester of American history to complete one unit of credit; 
8 report civics as a part of the course in American history; i reports 
it as a separate subject in the first year and as part of the course in 
American history in the fourth year. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 109 

TIME ELEMENT 

Length of the course.— Oi these 20 teachers who indicate that 
civics as taught in their schools is a separate subject, 17 report that 
it extends through a half-year of 18-20 weeks, 2 that it extends 
through a full school year, and i that it extends through 9 weeks 
only. All the 8 teachers who indicate that civics, as taught in their 
schools, is taught in combination with American history report 
such combination courses to be a full year of 36 or more weeks in 
length. The approximate proportion of the total time allotted 
to civics in these 8 schools is one-fifth in i school, one-third in 2, 
two-fifths in I, and one-half in 4. 

Periods per week and length of periods.— With, one exception the 
number of periods per week is five. In this one school the work 
in civics extends through three 45-minute periods per week for 36 
weeks. The length of periods is without exception 40 or 45 minutes. 

III. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE 
PROPORTIONS OF CIVIC THEORY AND PRACTICE AND OE COMMUNITY CIVICS 

The approximate proportion of time allotted to civic theory 
and practice (government proper) ranges from one-tenth to four- 
fifths, with 15 schools reporting one-half. Consequently the 
approximate proportion of the total time devoted to community 
civics (public welfare, etc.) ranges from one-fifth to nine-tenths, 
with 15 schools reporting one-half. 

The questionnaire contained a list of aspects of community 
civics, and the teachers were asked to check those to which they 
give attention in their courses. Table LXX shows the numbers 
of teachers reporting attention to the various aspects named. 

IV. METHODS 
HOW TEXTBOOKS ARE USED 

Eighteen teachers report that they use the textbook as a basis 
of assignments to be supplemented by collateral readings, 7 use 
it as a syllabus in connection with collateral readings, and i plans 
to use it on the same basis as other readings of the course. The 3 
remaining teachers do not answer the question. 



no ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

MATERIALS STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED TO USE 

The|following materials were listed in the questionnaire, and 
the|teachers were asked to indicate by checking which of them they 
require their students to use: prepared supplementary readings 

TABLE LXX 

Number or Teachers Giving Attention to Certain 
Aspects of Community Civics 

Number of 
Aspect Teachers 

Community health 26 

Public utilities , 25 

Immigration 25 

Taxation 25 

Pure food 24 

Public recreation 23 

Civic beauty 23 

Transportation 22 

Charities 22 

Correction 21 

Juvenile courts 20 

Commimication 20 

Housing 19 

Occupations ig 

Child labor 18 

Wealth 17 

Savings banks 17 

Social education (wider use of the school plant) 16 

Urban and rural life 14 

Life insurance 12 

Family income 12 

Total number of responses to the questionnaire 29 

(e.g., Kaye's), fuller treatises on political science, reports of pro- 
ceedings and enactments of legislatures and of Congress, census 
reports, reports of public and private organizations, and articles 
in magazines and newspapers. The number of teachers report- 
ing their use is shown in Table LXXI. One or two teachers 
each add the following: other texts, texts on state civics, reports 
of the state board of health, law dictionary, and immigration 
reports. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES iii 

TABLE LXXI 

Number of Teachers Reporting Use of Various 
Kinds of Supplementary Materials 

Number of 
Material Teachers 

Articles in magazines and newspapers 26 

Reports of proceedings and enactments of legisla- 
tures and of Congress 21 

Fuller treatises on political science 19 

Reports of public and private organizations 18 

Prepared supplementary readings 17 

Census 13 

Total number of responses to questioimaire 29 



special methods and devices 

Table LXXII contains the names of special methods and devices 
listed in the inquiry and also presents the number of teachers 
reporting that they have found their use successful. 

TABLE LXXII 

Number of Teachers Reporting the Use of 
Certain Special Methods and Devices 

., , , ^ . Number of 

Method or Device Teachers 

Current events 27 

Class debates 22 

Charts and diagrams 20 

Outlines ig 

Pictures 19 

Visits to courts 18 

Visits to voting places 17 

Mock trials 17 

Mock elections 17 

Special talks to class by officials 17 

Themes on national or other questions 17 

Visits to city council 15 

Visits to jail 14 

Mock congresses 8 

Mock meetings of city council 5 

Visits to legislature 3 

Mock town meetings 3 

Total number of responses to questionnaire 29 



112 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

CO-OPERATION WITH LOCAL CIVIC, COMMERCIAL, AND OTHER BODIES 

The teachers were asked to describe briefly any successful co- 
operation between their classes and the local civic, commercial, and 
other bodies and authorities. It is significant that 15 of the 29 
teachers do not answer this question — there is no such co-operation 
of their classes in civics. Several of the answers merit quotation: 
"raised $5,000 for $150,000 Y.M.C.A.; Pageant; $5,000 lecture 
course " ; " class gathered material for Civic Club on care of garbage, 

ashes, etc for Swat the Fly campaign"; "secure data 

and information from city officials"; "Commercial Club furnishes 
handbooks and speakers." One teacher answers, "Here, where our 
course should be strongest, it has proved weakest." 

V. AIMS 

The responses to the question as to the aim of the course in 
civics indicate that, when taken in the broadest implications of the 
statement, the main purpose is related to the practical value of 
the subject as preparation for citizenship. This may be seen in 
the statements a few teachers have set down as additional aims: 
"interest in current events," "meaning and use of social struc- 
tures," "to inspire with a love of fairness." 

VI. SUMMARY 

1. Civics is usually a fourth-year subject. 

2. a) When taught as a separate subject, it usually extends 
through a half-year of 18-20 weeks, but occasionally appears as a 
full-year subject. 

b) When taught as a part of a course in American history, 
it sometimes extends through less than a half-year. 

3. The proportion of time allotted to (i) civic theory and prac- 
tice and (2) community civics varies between wide extremes, but 
both are always represented. 

4. a) The textbook is most commonly used as a basis of assign- 
ments to be supplemented by required collateral readings, but a 
considerable proportion of schools report a freer use of it, i.e., as a 
syllabus in connection with collateral readings. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 113 

b) Generous use seems to be made of periodicals, reports of vari- 
ous legislative bodies and of public and private organizations, fuller 
treatises on political science, and prepared supplementary readings. 

c) Teachers avail themselves of the use of a wide range of 
special methods and devices for adding interest and value to the 
work. Some report co-operation with local civic, commercial, and 
other bodies and authorities. 

5. The main purpose in the teaching of civics is related to its 
practical value as preparation for citizenship. 

C. Economics 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

The responses to the inquiry in economics have come from 
40 teachers in schools distributed as follows : 

Number of 
State Schools 

Colorado 2 

Illinois 8 

Indiana i 

Iowa 4 

Kansas 2 

Michigan 4 

Minnesota 2 

Missouri 3 

Montana i 

Nebraska 3 

North Dakota i 

Ohio 4 

Oklahoma i 

South Dakota i 

Wisconsin 3 

Total 40 

II. THE OPFERING 
YEARS IN WHICH ECONOMICS IS TAUGHT 

The years in which the course in economics appears in the 
schools from which reports have come are presented in Table 
LXXIII. It will be seen that, although frequently appearing in 
the third year, it is predominantly a fourth-year subject. 



114 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

TABLE LXXIII 

Years in Which the Course in 
Economics Appears 

Number of 
Year or Years Schools 

Second i 

Third 5 

Fourth 25 

Third or fourth 6 

"Elective" or "vmclassified" 3 

Total 40 

TIME ELEMENT 

Length of the course. — Of the 39 schools that give information 
as to the number of weeks in the course, i reports a course of 12 
weeks; 32, courses of a half-year of 18-20 weeks; and 6, a full year 
of 36 or more weeks. 

Periods per week and length of periods. — The number of periods 
per week allotted to economics is, with 2 exceptions, five. One of the 
schools varying from the usual practice reports but a single period, 
the other, three periods. The lengths of periods are presented in 
Table LXXIV. The periods are with a small proportion of excep- 

TABLE LXXIV 

Length of Class Periods in Economics 

Length of Period Number of 

in Minutes Schools 

40 7 

42 2 

45 24 

50 '■ 3 

55 I 

60 2 

80 I 

Total 40 

tions 40-45 minutes in length. The 3 schools reporting the longest 
periods state that these include time for study. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 115 

ni. ORGANIZATION OF THE COURSE 

THE DIVISION OF TIME BETWEEN THEORY AND THE HISTOEICAL AND 
DESCRIPTIVE ASPECTS OF ECONOMICS 

There is no approach to common practice in the fractional pro- 
portion of the total time devoted (i) to theory and (2) to the his- 
torical and descriptive aspects of the course in economics. The part 
reported as being allotted to the former ranges from one-fourth 
to four-fifths, the modal practices being one-third (6 schools), 
one-half (7 schools), and three-fourths (5 schools). Consequently 
the part devoted to the latter aspects ranges between one-fifth 
and three-fourths, with the modal practices at two-thirds, one- 
half, and one-fourth. 

PROGRAMS OF ECONOMIC REFORM 

The ideals of individual and social welfare are being recognized 
by approach to them through a study of programs of economic 
reform. The number of teachers giving attention to such pro- 
grams is as follows: 

Organized labor 37 

Single tax 34 

Socialism 33 

Total number of responses to questionnaire 40 

In addition, one to several teachers name these as receiving atten- 
tion in their courses: taxation, saving, capital, monopolies, modern 
business methods, welfare work, public utilities, child labor, 
equality in wage, and moral aspects of economics. 

IV. METHODS 
HOW TEXTBOOKS ARE USED 

Ten teachers report that they use the textbook as the main 
body of the course with little or no collateral reading, 24 report its 
use as the basis of assignments to be supplemented by required 
collateral readings, and i reports its use on the same basis as other 
readings of the course. The 3 remaining teachers report two of the 



ii6 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

uses here named, probably at different points in the course. Thus, 
for the most part, teachers seem to follow the text rather closely. 

AMOUNT OF REQUIRED COLLATERAL READING 

The approximate number of pages of collateral reading required 
per semester ranges from 50 to 600. Of the 29 teachers making 
replies that may be tabulated, 21 report from 100 to 250 pages. 
We are probably not wrong in saying that some of the 8 teachers 
who make no answer require no collateral reading. Three others 
"cannot say." 

EMPHASIS ON LOCAL ECONOMIC PROBLEMS AND CONDITIONS 

Thirty-three of the 40 teachers say that they stress local eco- 
nomic problems and conditions, 2 say that they do not, and 5 do 
not answer. The methods of making such local applications are 
reports of trips, visits, and investigations of local establishments. 

V. AIMS 

The only information which this investigation revealed with 
reference to the aims in courses in economics is to be found in the 
answers to the question, "Is the subject as taught intentionally 
adapted to the needs of any particular vocation?" Five of the 
teachers who answer in the affirmative report that the course aims 
to prepare for commercial pursuits, while another speaks of prepara- 
tion for teaching. 

VI. SUMMARY 

1. The high-school course in economics appears in the third and 
fourth years, more commonly in the latter. 

2. a) Although usually a half-year in length, the course some- 
times extends through a full school year. 

b) There are more commonly five 40- or 45-minute class periods 
per week in the course. 

3. a) All courses contain work in both (i) theory and (2) the 
historical and descriptive aspects, but there is no common practice 
in the proportion of the total time devoted to either. 

4. Attention is given in practically all schools to various pro- 
grams of economic reform. 



HISTORY AND OTHER SOCIAL STUDIES 117 

5. The textbook is most commonly used as the basis of assign- 
ments to be supplemented by required collateral readings, although 
some teachers follow the text more closely, requiring little or no 
collateral reading. 

6. Emphasis on local economic problems and conditions is 
common. 

7. In relatively few schools is the subject intentionally adapted 
to the needs of any particular vocations. Where it is so taught, 
the teachers usually aim at preparation for commercial pursuits. 



CHAPTER VI 

THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 

A. Manual Training and Mechanical Drawing 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

Responses to the inquiry in manual training were made by loo 
teachers distributed as follows: 

Number of 
State Schoob 

Colorado 2 

Illinois 22 

Indiana 7 

Iowa 5 

Kansas 10 

Michigan 4 

Minnesota 12 

Missouri 8 

Nebraska 5 

. North Dakota 5 

Ohio 6 

Oklahoma 4 

South Dakota 3 

Wisconsin 7 

Total 100 

n. THE OFFERING AND ITS ORGANIZATION 
EXTENT OF THE OFFERING IN NUMBER OP YEAR-COURSES 

The number of year-courses reported by teachers of manual 
training is indicated in Table LXXV. The term year-course is 
here to be understood as signifying a course extending through a 
year without regard to its time allotment per week. The time 
allotment per week will be reported in another place. The offerings 
in shopwork are seen to range from i to 7^ year-courses with the 
modal practices at 2, 3, and 4. The number of year-courses in 
mechanical drawing, exclusive of architectural drawing, is fairly 
evenly divided among the four practices of i, 2, 3, and 4. The 
offering in architectural drawing is seen to extend in 28 schools 
through a single year and in half this number through two years. 



TEE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



H9 



Few schools offer more than two years of architectural drawing. 
Such schools as do not answer may safely be included with those 

TABLE LXXV 

Number of Year-Courses Offered in Shopwork, Mechanical 
Drawing, and Architectural Drawing 





Number of Schools Reporting in 


Number of 
Yeak-Courses 


Shopwork 


Mechanical 
Drawing 


Architectural 
Drawing 






I 
20 
27 
19 


22 




6 
32 

23 
2 

30 

2 
2 

1 
2 


28 




14 


5 


2 


^i 




32 • 

A 


27 


2 






A 






7i 






No answer 


6 


32 






Total 


100 


100 


100 







reporting no courses. More than half the schools may thus be 
said to make no offering in architectural drawing. 

YEARS IN WHICH THE COURSES APPEAR AND NATURE OF THE OFFERING 

Shopwork. — Woodwork is reported as the sole constituent of first- 
year courses in shopwork in 60 of the 100 schools. It is reported as 
a partial constituent in combination with other kinds of shopwork 
in 9 additional schools. In the remaining 29 schools that make 
answer to the question some differentiated type of shopwork is 
reported, usually cabinetmaking, joinery, wood-turning, or pattern- 
making, as sole or partial constituents, although each of the following 
are reported once or twice each: wood-finishing, forgework, foundry, 
sheet-metal work, concreting, electrical work, millwrighting, and 
printing. 

Undifferentiated woodwork is reported in but 19 of 92 schools 
as the sole constituent and in but 4 schools as the partial constituent 
of second-year courses in shopwork. Correspondingly, the repre- 
sentation of the differentiated courses increases. This is true, 
not only of differentiated types of work in wood, already named 



I20 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

as appearing in the first year, with carpentry in addition, but of 
work in metal also, as forging, molding, sheet-metal work, and 
machine-shop work. Concreting and printing also continue to 
appear. 

In but 3 of the 60 schools making answer are third- and fourth- 
year courses in shopwork constituted solely of undifferentiated 
woodwork, and this work is reported as a partial division in but 3 
additional schools for each of these years. Correspondingly, the 
differentiations reported in the second year increase in proportionate 
representation. This is especially true of the various kinds of work 
in metal. Machine-shop work appears as the sole element in a third 
of the fourth-year courses reported. Carpentry is reported more 
frequently than in earlier courses. One school each reports mill- 
work and a special course in automobiles in the fourth year. 

Mechanical drawing. — Of the 84 schools offering first-year 
courses in mechanical drawing, 40 report the content merely as 
"mechanical drawing," sometimes in addition indicating its ele- 
mentary character. Five schools report "geometrical drawing," 
and 5, "working drawings." The following special topics appear 
several times each in various combinations: projections (ortho- 
graphic, isometric), machine drawing, printing and lettering, 
blocking-in, tracing, blueprinting, perspective, developments. 

Of the 70 schools offering courses in mechanical drawing in the 
second year, 15 report the content merely by that name, although 
"design " is sometimes associated with it. Thirteen report machine 
drawing as the sole constituent of the course for this year, and 7, 
projections. The former is reported as a partial division of the 
courses in 7 other schools, the other branches being one or more of 
the following: developments, intersections of solids, projections, 
and geometrical drawings. The following are mentioned a few 
times each in various combinations: sections, penetrations, iso- 
metrics, furniture design, sheet-metal drafting, developments, 
model drawing, revolutions, etc. 

Of the 49 schools offering third-year courses, approximately 
half constitute them in whole, while another seventh constitute 
them in part, of machine drawing. "Mechanical drawing" of a 
more or less advanced character is reported by 10 schools. 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



121 



Projections and developments appear in 3 schools. Design appears 
in 3 schools. 

Machine drawing and design are almost universal in the ^$ 
schools offering fourth-year courses, "Mechanical drawing" is 
reported in 3 schools. 

Architectural drawing. — This subject appears in the first year 
in but 2 schools, in the second year in 1 2 schools, in the third year in 
28 schools, and in the fourth year in 22 schools. It is thus seen to 
be by practice recommended for the later years of the high school. 
This is no doubt due to the fact that it presupposes a knowledge of 
elementary mechanical drawing and that it is in nature a differen- 
tiation. The content is almost always reported as "architectural 
drawing," although the following subdivisions are mentioned 
several times each: perspective, details, floor plans, elevations, 
framing, moldings, roofs, blueprinting, estimating, etc. 



TIME ELEMENT 

The facts as to the extent of the offering in year-courses in 
manual training have already been presented. It remains to 
set forth briefly the practice as to the time allotment per week for 
these courses. The great variation in this respect is to be seen in 
the accompanying table (LXXVI), which presents the results of a 

TABLE LXXVI 

Percentage of Schools Following Various Practices in Time 
Allotment per Week in Shopwork 



Minutes per Week 



Year-Courses 



First Year 



Second Year 



Third Year 



Fourth Year 



90-150 
160-250 
260-360 
400-450 



13 
39 
28 



38 
29 

25 



18 

36 

18 

28 



12 
40 
18 
30 



computation of the percentages of the schools making various 
allotments of time per week in courses in shopwork. It may be 
said in conjunction with what appears in this table that well-marked 
modal practices appear. These are, for instance, in the first year, 
225 minutes (35 schools), 270 minutes (25 schools), and 450 minutes 



122 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

(ii schools). These three modal practices signify, respectively, 
five 45-minute, three 90-minute, and five 90-minute periods per 
week in the shop. The same general tendency obtains in subse- 
quent shop courses, except that there are smaller proportions of 
schools reporting the 270-minute allotment, and correspondingly 
larger proportions reporting the 450-minute allotment. 

The time allotment per week for mechanical drawing and archi- 
tectural drawing may be illustrated by the percentages appearing 
in Table LXXVII, which presents the practice in the first-year 

TABLE LXXVII 

Percentage of Schools Following Various Practices 

IN Time Allotment per Week in Mechanical 

AND Architectural Drawing 



Minutes per Week 


First- Year Course 

in Mechanical 

Drawing 


Third- Year Course in 

Architectural 

Drawing 


90-150 


20 

58 

9 

12 


18 


160—250 


50 

7 

25 


260-360 


400-450. 





courses of the former and in the third-year courses of the latter. 
The facts as to these particular years are used because it is in these 
years that these subjects are more largely represented in the 
schools reporting, and they may be understood fairly to represent 
the facts for the courses in these subjects appearing in the other 
high-school years. It may be said in connection with the 
percentages appearing in this table that well-marked modal 
practices appear at 180 and 225 minutes, corresponding to two 
90-minute and five 45-minute periods per week for mechanical 
drawing, and 225 and 450 minutes, corresponding to five 45-minute 
and five 90-minute periods per week in architectural drawing. 

III. METHODS 
MAIN KINDS OF ACTIVITIES IN COURSES IN SHOPWORK 

The following kinds of activities in courses in shopwork were 
listed in the inquiry blank, and the teachers were asked to signify 
of which their courses consist: (i) the making of models, (2) the 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 123 

making of practical individual projects, (3) the manufacture of 
commercial products in quantity, and (4) the making of com- 
munity projects. Table LXXVIII contains the results of the 

TABLE LXXVIII 

Number of Schools Reporting the Various Kinds 
OF Activities in Shopwork 

Number of 
Schools 
Kinds of Activities Reporting 

(2) 14 

(i) and (2) 31 

(2) and (3) 3 

(2) and (4) 21 

(3) and (4) I 

(i), (2), and (3) 4 

(i), (2), and (4) 14 

(2), (3), and (4) 2 

All 6 

No answer 4 

Total 100 

compilation of the responses to this request. The figures indicate 
that the practice varies greatly. It appears that in no school do 
activities (i), (3), and (4) form the sole type of activity of the 
students. The making of practical individual projects does so 
appear in 14 schools. 

The figures in Table LXXVIII are more significant when 
reassembled in the following manner: type (i) appears in 55 schools ; 
type (2) appears in 95 schools; type (3) appears in 16 schools; 
type (4) appears in 44 schools. It is thus seen that practical indi- 
vidual projects appear in practically all courses in shopwork; models 
form a part of the courses in somewhat more than half the schools ; 
almost half concern themselves to some extent with the making of 
community projects; while a relatively small number turn out 
commercial products in quantity. 

In the 31 schools limiting the work to types (i) and (2), the 
fractional proportion of time devoted to the former varies from one- 
tenth to four-fifths of the total time, and that devoted to the latter 



124 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

from one-fifth to nine-tenths of the total. Practices appearing more 
commonly than others are at one-fourth, one-third, one-half, and 
three-fourths for type (i) and, therefore, the same fractional pro- 
portions in reverse order for type (2). There is, however, no 
approach to any single practice or rule. In the 21 schools reporting 
types (2) and (4), the time is as a rule divided into from three- 
fourths to nine-tenths for the former and, therefore, one-tenth to 
one-fourth for the latter, thus showing a marked tendency to 
devote a relatively large proportion to the former and a rela- 
tively small proportion to the latter. In the 14 schools adding 
type (i) to these two, the more common practice is one-fourth, 
one-half, and one-fourth of the total time to types (i), (2), 
and (4), respectively. 

DISPOSITION OF THE CLASS PERIOD 

The disposition of the class period in courses in shopwork and 
drawing into time for {a) recitation, (&) lecture and demonstration, 
and (c) laboratory (i.e., actual work by the student) ranges between 
wide extremes, but it may be said that in general (c) occupies either 
all or almost all the class time. 

In shopwork about a fourth of the schools devote no time to 
recitation, the other modal practices being one-tenth, one-eighth, 
one-sixth, and one-fifth of the total time, the last two not being 
as well marked as the preceding. Almost all schools devote some 
time to lecture and recitation, the modal practices being one-tenth, 
one-eighth, one-sixth, and one-fifth, the first-named being the 
practice in 30 schools. The modal practices as to proportion of the 
time devoted to laboratory work are three-fourths, four-fifths, and 
nine-tenths. 

In mechanical and architectural drawing approximately a third 
and a half of the schools, respectively, give no time to recitation, 
while the modal practices where such time is allotted are one-tenth 
and one-eighth. As in shopwork, in these two subjects almost all 
schools report some proportion of time for lecture and recitation, 
modal practices being one-tenth, one-eighth, one-fifth, and one- 
fourth. The modal practices as to proportion of laboratory work 
are three-fourths, four-fifths, and nine-tenths. 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 125 

rv. AIMS AND PURPOSES 
THE VOCATIONAL AIM 

Twenty-two of the 100 teachers signify in some manner or other 
that the paramount aim of their work in this field is vocational, 
although only 12 do so unequivocally, the others adding such 
qualifications as, "we are going in that direction," "as far as 
possible," "both vocational and general," "it is so announced," "of 
some courses, yes." 

Some of those who admit the vocational aim name the following 
occupations as those for which the work prepares: carpentry, 
pattern-making, drafting, cabinet-making, and the work of the 
machinist. For the most part, however, those interested in the 
vocational end lay more emphasis upon the general elementary 
preparation here possible than upon actual development of skill 
and ability necessary to take a place in the trades mentioned. 

The following additional aims were listed in the inquiry blank, 
and the teachers were asked to check those which dominate the 
work in their subjects: {a) prevocational, (&) to develop habits of 
skill and industry, (c) to cultivate appreciation for beauty in design 
and articles of artistic value, {d) to emphasize the informational 
side of the work (e.g., a study of the properties of wood or metal, 
the principles involved in construction, etc.), {e) to cultivate social 
appreciation (interest in human activities). It will be seen in 
Table LXXIX that there is more generous concurrence in these 

TABLE LXXIX 

NxjMBER OF Teachers Concurring in Various Aims 
IN Manual Training 

4; Number of Teachers 

^"^^ Concurring 

{a) • 52 

(6) 98 

{c) 75 

{d) 76 

{e) 57 

than in the distinctly vocational aim. The development of habits 
of skill and industry seems to be an all but universal aim; cultiva- 
tion of appreciation of beauty in design, etc., and emphasis upon 
the informational side of the work are valid aims with three-fourths 



126 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

of the teachers ; the prevocational aim and the cultivation of social 
appreciation are kept in mind by more than half the teachers. 

V. SUMMARY 

1. a) The more common offerings in shop work extend through 
two, three, and four years; in mechanical drawing, one, two, three, 
and four years; and in architectural drawing, one and two years. 

b) Although shopwork is reported as undifferentiated woodwork 
in most schools in the first year, this proportion diminishes to a 
very few in the third and fourth years, the courses reported for the 
years following the first being in increasingly larger proportion such 
differentiations as cabinet-making, joinery, wood-turning, pattern- 
making, carpentry, forgework, foundry, sheet-metal work, machine- 
shop work, art-metal work, concreting, printing, etc. Various 
kinds of work in metal are much more in evidence in the third and 
fourth than in the two preceding years. 

c) Undifferentiated mechanical drawing, although very fre- 
quently reported for first-year courses, gives way in subsequent 
courses to some sort of differentiation, more commonly machine 
drawing. Architectural drawing, appearing largely in the third 
and fourth years, is also a frequent differentiation. 

d) The time allotment per week varies greatly, but modal 
practices are to be found in shopwork at 225 minutes (equivalent to 
five 45-minute periods), 270 minutes (three 90-minute periods), and 
225 minutes (five 45-minute periods) ; in mechanical drawing they 
are 180 minutes (two 90-minute periods) and 225 minutes (five 
45-minute periods), while in architectural drawing they are 225 
minutes (five '45-minute periods) and 450 minutes (five 90-minute 
periods) . 

2. The work in shop concerns itself with the making of models 
in somewhat more than half, with the making of practical indi- 
vidual projects in almost all, with the making of community 
projects in almost half, and with the manufacture of commercial 
products in quantity in approximately a sixth, of the schools. The 
proportions of these types of activity vary greatly, but the making 
of practical individual projects consumes the larger part of the 
time in most schools. 



TEE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 127 

3. Recitation does not find a place in the class period of many 
schools. Its share is almost always small where it is reported. 
Lecture and demonstration are almost always reported, but occupy 
a small fraction of the class period. Laboratory work (actual work 
by the student) occupies the great bulk of the period. 

4. A relatively small proportion of schools make the vocational 
aim of manual training paramount, the more common aims being 
the prevocational, the development of habits of skill and industry, 
the cultivation of appreciation for beauty, etc., emphasis upon the 
informational side of the work, and the cultivation of social appre- 
ciation. 

B. Home Economics and Household Art 

I. distribution of responses to the inquiry 

Responses to the inquiry in home economics and household 
art were made by 63 teachers distributed in schools as follows: 

Number of 
State Schools 

Colorado i 

Illinois 13 

Indiana 12 

Iowa 3 

Kansas 2 

Michigan 4 

Minnesota 5 

Missouri 3 

Montana 4 

Nebraska 5 

North Dakota 2 

Oklahoma 2 

South Dakota i 

Wisconsin 6 

Total 63 

II. the offering and its organization 

EXTENT OF THE OFFERING 

The extent of the offering in home economics and household 
art in the number of years of work reported may be seen in Table 
LXXX to range between one and eight years. The more common 
practices are one year (10 schools), two years (19 schools), and 
four years (11 schools). This offering is evenly divided between 



128 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

the two fields, home economics and household art, except in 14 
schools, where the respective amounts in these two fields differ 
by one-half or one unit. Two of these offer work in the former 
without offering it in the latter. Ten of them offer less work in the 
latter than in the former. 

TABLE LXXX 

Extent of the Offering in Home Economics and 

Household Art in Number of Years of 

Work Reported 

Years of Number of 

Work Schools 

I 10 

li 3 

2 19 

zh 3 

3 6 

4 " 

Ah I 

5 I 

6§ I 

8 2 

Not making usable replies 6 

Total number of responses to questionnaire .... 63 

It must be said that a large number of schools — ^it is impossible 
to state the exact number on account of the manner in which the 
inquiry was framed, but it is at least a third of the total number — 
present the work in combination courses. The time devoted to the 
work in such courses is usually equally divided between the two fields. 
These combination courses may be limited to one year, or they 
may continue through two years, and the practice is followed even in 
third- and fourth-year courses, as may be seen in the following illus- 
trations: one school offers a course in laundry and dressmaking 
in the third year; another, a course in millinery, dressmaking, 
laundry, and dietetics in the fourth year; still another, a course 
in sanitation, home management, and art needlework in the third 

year. 

content of the courses in home economics 

The subdivisions of the field of home economics appearing in 
the first and second courses are shown in Table LXXXI. From 
the facts here presented it appears that plain cooking is a constant 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



129, 



constituent of first courses in home economics, and that meal-serving 
appears frequently, but that the other subdivisions do not appear 
at all generally in these courses. On the other hand, plain cooking 
all but drops out of second courses, the more frequent sole or 
partial constituents of these courses being fancy cooking, dietaries, 
meal-serving, home management, and sanitation. 

TABLE LXXXI 

Content of First and Second Courses in Home Economics 



Subdivisions 



Number or Schools Reporting the Sub- 
divisions AS Occupying the Whole 
or a Part of the Course 



First Courses 



Second Courses 



Plain cooking 

Fancy cooking 

Dietaries 

Meal-serving 

Marketing 

Laundry 

Home nursing 

Home management. . . . 

Sanitation 

Household chemistry. . . 
Household bacteriology . 



SS 

9 

9 

22 

12 

7 
6 
8 
II 
3 



7 
20 

25 

33 
8 

7 
8 

IS 

IS 

S 



Total number of schools making usable 
reports 



S7 



39 



In courses more advanced than the first and second there is 
emphatically less uniformity of practice as to content. Home 
management appears as the sole or partial constituent in 11 such 
courses, dietetics in 2, laundry in 2, other constituents being home 
nursing, marketing, sanitation, and "housewifery." 



CONTENT OF COURSES IN HOUSEHOLD ART 

The subdivisions of the field of household art appearing in first 
and second courses are shown in Table LXXXII. Probably 
because of the nature of the work the distinction of practice between 
the content of first and second courses here appears to be less clear 
than it is between first and second courses in home economics. 
However, first courses in household art have as the more constant 
constituents of the work hand and machine sewing and work in 



130 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



textiles. Other subdivisions reported with some frequency are: 
crocheting, embroidery and handwork, and costume design. In 
second courses the more frequent subdivisions are hand and machine 
sewing, crocheting, embroidery, costume design, and textiles. It 
is to be noted further that hand and machine sewing are reported 
with less proportional frequency in second courses than in first, 

TABLE LXXXII 
Content of First and Second Courses in Household Art 



Subdivisions 



Number of Schools Reporting the Sub- 
divisions AS Occupying the Whole 
or a Part of the Course 



First Courses 



Second Courses 



Sewing 

a) Hand 

b) Machine 

Textiles 

Handwork 

a) Crocheting 

b) Knitting 

c) Embroidery 

d) Tatting 

e) Weaving 

/) Basketry 

g) Leather tooling. . 

Design 

o) Handwork 

b) Costume 

c) House decoration . 

Millinery 

Dressmaking 

House decoration 



37 
36 
26 

14 

4 

13 



9 
10 

2 



16 
21 
12 

8 

2 

15 

2 

I 
I 

I 

5 
10 

5 
3 
6 



Total number of schools making usable 
reports 



49 



34 



while, on the other hand, embroidery and costume and house- 
decoration design are reported with greater proportional frequency. 
Differentiations appearing in second but not in first courses are 
tatting, dressmaking, and millinery, of which the last two named 
are of some importance in the matter of distinction between first 
and second courses. 

As in home economics, in courses in household art more ad- 
vanced than the first and second there is emphatically less uni- 
formity of practice as to content. Differentiations appearing as sole 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 131 

or partial constituents of these advanced courses are: millinery 
in 7 schools, house decoration in 6, dressmaking or "tailoring" in 3, 
and art needlework, "home problems," and costume design in i 
or 2 schools each. 

TIME ELEMENT 

The data available for purposes of indicating modal practices 
or other central tendencies as to amounts of time per week devoted 
to courses in home economics and household art are so fragmentary 
as not to lend themselves readily to compilation and tabulation. 
We are warranted in saying, however, without presenting definite 
facts to support the statement, that courses in home economics with 
the occasional exception of the work in dietaries, home manage- 
ment, sanitation, and household chemistry, follow, for the most 
part, the accepted practice of double periods for each day the work 
is taught. The same may be said for the courses in household art, 
with the exception of some work in textiles, house decoration, and 
design. In the exceptions noted under home economics there is 
some tendency in the direction of single periods with recitation in 
dietaries, and a more marked tendency in this direction in home 
management and sanitation. Household chemistry follows the 
usual practice in science of three single recitation and two double 
laboratory periods per week. Class time in textiles, house decora- 
tion, and in a few of the courses in design seems to be limited in 
some schools to single periods. These deviations from the common 
practice of double periods are in all probability justified on the 
ground that these particular kinds of work lend themselves more 
readily to assignment of work for which preparation is to be made 
outside the class periods, as is true of the academic subjects of 
study. 

ni. METHODS 
I. Methods in Home Economics 

DEVICES OR METHODS FOR GIVING INFORMATION 

Table LXXXIII shows the extent to which teachers report 
the use of certain devices or methods for giving information in 
classes in home economics. It will be seen that all methods listed 
except the stereopticon are very commonly used. 



132 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

PHASES OF HOME ECONOMICS RECEIVING EMPHASIS IN LECTURE OR RECITATION 

The following phases of lecture or recitation were listed in the 
questionnaire, and the teachers were asked to number them in the 

TABLE LXXXIII 

Number of Teachers Reporting the Use of Various 

Devices and Methods for Giving 

Information 

Number of Teachers 
Device or Method Reporting 

Demonstration 6i 

Lectures 57 

Exhibits 54 

Charts 52 

xExcursions 47 

Stereopticons 7 

Total number of responses to questionnaire 63 

order of emphasis in their classes: cost of food, food values, com- 
position, sanitary aspects, cost of household equipment, production 
and manufacture, and applications of science. The number of 
times each of these phases was numbered i, 2, or 3 is indicated in 
Table LXXXIV. On the basis of the total number of first, second, 

TABLE LXXXIV 

Relative Emphasis in Lecture or Recitation of Certain Phases 
OF Home Economics 





Number of Teachers Giving the First Three Rankings 


Phase 


First 


Second 


Third 


Total Number of First, 

Second, and Third 

Rankings 


Cost of food 


II 
36 
IS 
4 
2 
I 
5 


II 
II 
26 

9 

I 

3 
S 


20 
6 

9 
16 

3 
6 
2 


42 


Food values 


S3 


Composition 


50 


Sanitary aspects 


29 


Cost of household equipment 
Production and manufacture 
Applications of science 


6 
10 

12 



and third rankings received by each of these phases, the order of 
emphasis in the schools as a whole is: food values, first; composi- 
tion, second; cost of food, third; sanitary aspects, fourth; applica- 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



133 



tions of science, fifth; production and manufacture, sixth; and 
cost of household equipment, seventh. It is evident that the 
three last named are not given great emphasis. 

PHASES as HOME ECONOMICS EMPHASIZED IN THE LABORATORY WORK 

The following phases of laboratory work were listed in the 
questionnaire, and the teachers were asked to number them in the 
order of emphasis in their classes: technique — ^preparation of 
food; experimental — scientific applications; housekeeping — care 
of laboratory; serving of meals; and demonstration. The balloting 
has been compiled and is reproduced in Table LXXXV. An 

TABLE LXXXV 

Relative Emphasis in Laboratory Work of Certain Phases 
OF Home Economics 



Phase 


Number of Teachers Giving the Following Rankings 


First 


Second 


Third 


Fourth 


Fifth 


Technique 


SI 
9 
8 
2 



7 
10 

34 
8 



I 
16 

IS 

24 

3 


2 
14 

4 
24 
II 




Experimental 


2 


Housekeeping 





Serving of meals 

Demonstration 


3 
33 





inspection of the figures will indicate that, if these phases are 
placed in the order of the general trend of the emphasis, this 
order will be: technique, first; housekeeping, second; experi- 
mental, third; serving of meals, fourth; and demonstration, 
fifth. 

TYPES OF LABORATORY ACTIVITY 

Fifty-two of the 63 teachers report that students prepare 
individual portions in the laboratory, 10 report the preparation 
of both individual and family portions, while i teacher reports 
the preparation of individual, family, and institutional por- 
tions ("rarely" for institutional). The preparation of indi- 
vidual portions is thus the almost exclusive type of laboratory 
activity. 



134 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

CREDIT FOR HOME WORK IN HOME ECONOMICS 

Of the 63 teachers reporting, 43 say definitely that they do 
not give credit for home work in home economics, 16 say "yes," 
one says "in a few cases," and another "will do so next semester." 
Two teachers do not answer. Of the 16 who answer unequivocally 
in the affirmative, 8 report in the following terms, indicating 
that the recognition given affects the term or semester grade: 
"about one-sixth," "4 per cent," "5 per cent," "5 per cent on 
term grade," "10 per cent," "one-fifth," "one-third on 6 weeks' 
grade," and "25 per cent." Three report granting one-fourth of a 
unit of credit. Other responses are indefinite. 



CORRELATION OF HOME ECONOMICS WITH OTHER SUBJECTS 

Teachers were asked to signify, by single checking, those of 
the high-school subjects listed in Table LXXXVI with which 
they make definite efforts to correlate the work in home econo- 
mics and, by double checking, those subjects with which the 
correlation is most intimate. 

TABLE LXXXVI 

Number of Teachers Making Efforts to Correlate Home Economics with 
Various Other High-School Subjects 





Number of Teachers 


Correlates 


Nttmber or Teachers 


Correlates 


Reporting 
Efforts to 
Correlate 


Reporting 
Intimate 
Correlation 


Reporting 
Efforts to 
Correlate 


Reporting 

Intimate 

Correlation 


Botany 


24 
16 

22 
21 
22 
25 


5 

I 

5 

25 

26 
8 


General science. . 

Geography 

History 

Civics 


21 
II 

14 
10 

19 
29 


6 


Biolosrv 


2 


Physiology 

Hygiene 


I 
I 


Chemistry 

Physics 


Economics 

English 


7 
S 







Scrutiny of this table makes evident (i) that correlation is 
being attempted with a very wide range of subjects, and (2) that 
hygiene and chemistry are the subjects with which practice indi- 
cates that it is possible to make such correlation most intimate. 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 135 

2. Methods in Household Art 

DEVICES AND METHODS FOR GIVING INFORMATION 

Table LXXXVII shows the extent to which teachers report the 
use_^of certain devices or methods for giving information in classes 

TABLE LXXXVII 

Number of Teachers Reporting the Use of 

Various Devices and Methods for 

Giving Information 

-, . ,, ^. J Number of Teachers 

Device or Method Reporting 

Demonstration 51 

Lectures ^^ 

Exhibits ^3 

Charts. 45 

Excursions 26 

Stereopticons 6 

Total number of responses to questionnaire. ... 63 

in household art. All the devices listed, except the stereopticon, 
are frequently used. 

phases of household art receiving emphasis in lecture or recitation 
The following phases of lecture or recitation were listed in the 
questionnaire, and the teachers were asked to number them in the 
order of emphasis in their classes: design, industrial conditions, 
and historic development. The results of balloting appear in 

TABLE LXXXVIII 

Relative Emphasis in Lecture or Recitation of Certain Phases 
OF Household Art 





Number of Teachers Giving These Rankings 




First 


Second 


Third 


Design 


29 

II 

4 


8 

25 

12 




Industrial conditions 


s 


Historic development 


7 







Table LXXXVIII. The general trend of emphasis will be seen 
to follow the order in which the phases have just been named. 



136 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

PHASES OF HOUSEHOLD ART EMPHASIZED IN LABORATORY WORK 

The two following phases of household-art laboratory work were 
named in the questionnaire, and the teachers were asked to signify 
which has greater emphasis in their classes: technique — manipula- 
tion of tools and materials; design — inventive use of tools and 

TABLE LXXXIX 

Relative Emphasis in Phases of Laboratory Work in 
Household Art 





Number of Teachers Giving 
These Rankings 




First 


Second 


Technique 


49 

I 


I 


Design 


45 







materials in making designs. The results of the balloting appear 
in Table LXXXIX and indicate very definitely that the order of 
emphasis is that in which we have named the phases. 



TYPES OF PROBLEMS 

Teachers were asked to report which of three types of prob- 
lems, viz., {a) models, (&) individual problems, and (c) community 
problems, occupy the time of students in their classes in household 

TABLE XC 

Number of Teachers Reporting the Use of the Three Types 
OF Problems in Household Art 





Number of Teachers Reporting the Three Types of Problems 


Subject 


(a) 


(ft) 


ic) 


(a) and (ft) 


(ft) and (c) 


(a), (ft), (c) 




3 

I 

2 

5 


19 
27 
21 
II 




14 

12 

8 
3 


2 

5 
S 
8 


7 


Sewing 


I 


7 


Costume design 

Home decoration. . . 


2 


3 


2 



art. The responses as tabulated (see Table XC) indicate that 
models do not often appear as the sole type of problem in these 
classes, although they are frequently reported with individual 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



137 



problems; that the latter frequently appear as the sole type of 
problem, this being the most common of all practices; and that, 
except in home decoration, where the proportion is somewhat 
larger than for the other subjects, community problems do not 
constitute more than a rather infrequent type of activity. 

CREDIT FOR HOME WORK IN HOUSEHOLD ART 

The situation as to credit granted for home work in house- 
hold art is essentially the same as that reported above for 
home economics. 

CORRELATION OF HOUSEHOLD ART WITH OTHER SUBJECTS 

Teachers were asked to signify, by single checking, those of the 
high-school subjects listed in Table XCI with which they make 
definite efforts to correlate the work in household art and, by 
double checking, those subjects with which the correlation is most 

TABLE XCI 

Number of Teachers Making Efforts to Correla-Ke 
Household Art with Various Other High- 
School Subjects 





Number of Teachers 


Correlates 


Reporting Efforts 
to Correlate 


Reporting Intimate 
Correlation 


Chemistry 


24 
18 
27 

25 
18 


13 
18 
18 


Home management. . . 
Art 


History 


4 
2 


Literature 







intimate. Scrutiny of this table makes evident that correlation 
is being attempted by a large number of teachers and that the 
correlation may be most intimate with chemistry, home manage- 
ment, and art. Other subjects with which teachers report 
correlation are English and physiology (the "hygiene of 
clothing"). 



138 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



IV. AIMS 
GENERAL AIMS 

The general aims for both home economics and household art 
listed in the questionnaire were: (i) vocational, (2) prevocational 
(i.e., to assist the student in finding a vocation), and (3) general 
education. The teachers were asked to signify their concurrence 
in these aims. The extent of concurrence is shown in Table XCII. 

TABLE XCn 

Extent of Concurrence in the General Aims in 
Home Economics and Household Art 

Number of Teachers 
Anns Concurring 

(0 3 

(2) 2 

(3) 38 

(i) and (2) 3 

(i) and (3) 2 

(2) and (3) 10 

Total number of responses to questionnaire. ... 63 

Aim (3) is the only one of these aims to which there is an approach 
to general assent, 50 teachers checking it either alone or in con- 
junction with one of the other aims. A total of but 15 teachers 
give their assent to aim (2), either alone or with one of the other 
aims, while but 8 assent to the vocational aim. 



SPECIFIC aims in home ECONOMICS 

The following specific aims in home economics were listed in 
the questionnaire, and the teachers were asked to single check 
those receiving emphasis and to double check those receiving 
most emphasis in their classes: (i) to develop skill in performing 
household activities; (2) to give information concerning home 
industries and concerning materials; (3) to teach principles of 
economy in terms of cost and expenditure of energy; (4) to create 
interest in home-making; (5) to develop a scientific attitude toward 
household activities; (6) to create a desire to improve the living 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



139 



conditions of the family or of the community; (7) to show the 
relation of civic and economic problems to the home. Table XCIII 
contains the compilation of the responses to this request. If we 
bear in mind that the total number of responses received was 63, 

TABLE XCIII 

Number of Teachers Concxjrring in Each of the 
Various Aims in Home Economics 





Number of Teachers 


Aims 


Emphasizing 


Giving Most 
Emphasb 


(i) 


22 
47 

21 
19 

33 
22 

30 


38 
II 


(2) 


(3) 


42- 

39 

22 


(4) 


(5) 


(6) 


34 
6 


(7) 







the fact that 38, 42, 39, and 34 teachers, respectively, concur in 
aims (i), (3), (4), and (6) as being most deserving of emphasis and 
that 22, 21, 19, and 22 additional teachers, respectively, emphasize 
them signifies that these aims are considered valid by all or 
practically all teachers. There is rather general concurrence also 
in the remaining aims. 



SPECIFIC AIMS IN HOUSEHOLD ART 

The following specific aims in household art were listed in the 
questionnaire, and the teachers were requested to single check 
those being emphasized and to double check those receiving most 
emphasis in their classes: (i) to emphasize the informational 
side of the work (i.e., study of the loom, modern industrial con- 
ditions, economics, etc.); (2) to develop appreciation of beauty 
in material and construction; (3) to develop habits of skill and 
industry. Table XCIV contains the compilation of responses to 
this request. The order of recognition given these aims is at 
once seen to be the reverse of that in which they have been here 
named. 



I40 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

V. SUMMARY 

I. The extent of the offering in home economics and household 
art is one, two, or four years, but a small proportion of schools 
offer more. The work is usually evenly divided between the two 
fields, sometimes in combination, sometimes as separate courses. 

TABLE XCIV 

Number of Teachers Concurring in Each of the 
Various Aims in Household Art 





Number of Teachers 


Ams 


Emphasizing 


Giving Most 
Emphasis 


(i).. 


44 

32 

9 


S 

25 
52 


(2) 


(3) 





2. a) The most constant constituent of first courses in home 
economics is plain cooking, although other constituents, especially 
meal-serving, are reported. In second courses plain cooking 
largely gives place to fancy cooking, dietaries, meal-serving, home 
management, and sanitation as occupying the whole or a part of the 
course. There is no uniformity as to content of more advanced 
courses. 

b) The distinction between first and second courses in house- 
hold art is not as clear as in home economics. Hand and machine 
sewing are reported with less proportional frequency in second 
than in first courses, while embroidery and costume and house- 
decoration design become proportionately more frequent in the 
former. As in home economics, there is no uniformity as to content 
in more advanced courses. 

3. The time allotment in this work follows, for the most part, 
the rule of double periods per class session. The exceptions are 
mostly to be accounted for by the outside preparation required 
by the nature of some of the subdivisions of the subjects. 

4. a) Demonstration, lectures, exhibits, charts, and excursions 
are rather generally used to give information in both home eco- 
nomics and household art. 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 141 

h) (i) Food values., composition, cost of food, and sanitary- 
aspects are emphasized in courses in lecture and recitation in 
home economics in the order here given, 

(2) Design, industrial conditions, and historic development are 
emphasized in courses in household art in the order here given. 

c) (i) Technique, housekeeping, experiment, serving meals, 
and demonstration are emphasized in laboratory work in home 
economics in the order here given. 

(2) Technique and design are emphasized in the laboratory 
work in household art in the order here given. 

d) (i) The most common type of laboratory activity in home 
economics is the preparation of individual portions, family portions 
being prepared in a small number of schools, and institutional 
portions scarcely at all. 

(2) The type of problems with which students of household 
art are employed is usually individual problems, alone or in com- 
bination with models. Community problems appear to some 
extent. 

e) Recognition of home work is given in a small proportion of 
schools, more commonly as a part of the term or semester grade, 
but also in a few instances as a fraction of a unit of credit. 

/) (i) Correlation is effected in home economics with a wide 
range of other subjects, but is most intimate with hygiene and 
chemistry. 

(2) In household art the correlation is most intimate with 
chemistry, home management, and art. 

5. The most commonly recognized general aim for both home 
economics and household art is "general education," the prevoca- 
tional aim being concurred in to some extent and the vocational 
aim very sparingly. There is general concurrence in the specific 
aims for these two fields of work. 

C. Commercial Subjects 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

Response to the inquiry in the commercial subjects was made by 
74 teachers in schools distributed as follows: 



142 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

Number of 
State Schoob 

Colorado 3 

Illinois II 

Indiana 5 

Iowa 2 

Kansas S 

Michigan 15 

Minnesota 6 

Missouri 7 

Montana 3 

Nebraska 2 

North Dakota i 

Ohio 4 

Oklahoma 2 

South Dakota i 

Wisconsin 7 

Total 74 

II. THE OFFERING 
RANGE OF SUBJECTS OFFERED 

Table XCV shows the number of times the various commercial 
subjects are reported by the 74 schools making answer to the 
inquiry in this field. It is evident that the subjects appearing 

TABLE XCV 

Number of Schools in WmcH the Various 
Commercial Subjects Are Taught 

Number of Schools 
Reporting the 
Subjects Work 

Conunercial arithmetic 68 

Penmanship 23 

Spelling 20 

Penmanship and spelling 15 

Bookkeeping 69 

Shorthand 69 

Typewriting 69 

Business English 37 

Commercial law 57 

Commercial geography 47 

Commercial history 7 

Salesmanship 5 

Office practice 9 

Total number of responses to questionnaire 74 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



143 



most commonly in commercial curricula are commercial arithmetic, 
bookkeeping, shorthand, typewriting, commercial law, and com- 
mercial geography. Although it does not so appear, penmanship 
and spelling are also frequently reported, as each of these two 
subjects, in addition to being reported as indicated in the table, 
is reported in some instances in combination with other subjects, 
e.g., penmanship with bookkeeping, spelling with business English or 
stenography, etc. Moreover, in some schools spelling is taught only 
incidentally in combination with other commercial subjects. The last 
subject listed in the table is sometimes reported as "office training." 
Several subjects in addition to those appearing in this table are 
reported by one or two teachers each: accounting business, bank- 
ing, commercial reviews, commercial Latin (to be followed by 
Spanish), business methods, etc. 

YEARS IN WHICH THE COMMERCIAL SUBJECTS ARE TAUGHT 

The years in which the various courses appear are shown in 
Table XCVI. The combinations of years at the heads of the 

TABLE XCVI 
Years in Which the Commercial Subjects Appear 



Subjects 



Number of Schools Reporting the Cosmercial Subjects 
IN Various High-School Years 



Other 

Combinations 

of Years 



Total Number 
Replying 



Commercial arithmetic . . . 

Penmanship 

Spelling 

Penmanship and spelling 

Bookkeeping 

Shorthand 

Typewriting 

Business English 

Commercial law 

Commercial geography 
Commercial history . . . 

Salesmanship 

Ofi&ce practice 



31 
II 
10 

7 

I 



16 



9 
40 

37 
3 
6 
2 



3 
16 



SI 
23 
14 
15 
69 

63 
58 
28 

49 

47 

5 

5 

9 



vertical columns, i.e., "i, 2," "2, 3," and "3, 4," signify one of two 
practices: either that the subject under consideration extends 



144 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

through both years or that the subject is elective in either of the 
two years. The former may be understood to be the usual prac- 
tice in commercial arithmetic, penmanship, commercial law, 
and commercial geography, and the latter in bookkeeping, short- 
hand, and typewriting, while both practices may be true in business 
English. The numbers in the column headed "Other Combinations 
of Years" include reports such as "any year," " i and 4," " 2, 3, 4," 
and " I, 2, 3," and may be interpreted in much the same manner as 
has just been suggested for the two-year combinations. 

The table indicates that, although sometimes reported for other 
years, commercial arithmetic, penmanship, and spelling are recom- 
mended by practice for the lower years of the high school, pre- 
dominantly the first, that bookkeeping is most frequently found 
in the middle years, i.e., the second and third, and that shorthand, 
tj^ewriting, commercial law, salesmanship, and oflSce practice are 
usually advanced high-school subjects. The year-places of busi- 
ness English, commercial geography, and commercial history have 
not been so well determined by practice, although there is some 
tendency to place the second subject in the second year. 

TIME ELEMENT 

Length of the courses. — The length in years or fractions of a year 
of the various commercial subjects is presented in Table XCVII. 
Commercial arithmetic is seen to be almost as frequently a half- 
year as it is a full-year course. The situation is similar for pen- 
manship, although some schools extend it through two school 
years. When reported as a separate subject, spelling extends 
through either a half or a full year. A full year is more com- 
monly allotted to the combination courses in penmanship and 
spelling. Bookkeeping is almost as frequently a two-year as a one- 
year course; in some schools it receives three years. Shorthand 
and typewriting each more frequently extend through two than 
through a single year. Business English is most frequently a 
half-year course, although in some cases extending through one and 
even two years. The remaining courses listed in the table — 
commercial law, commercial history, salesmanship, and office prac- 
tice — are all predominantly half-year subjects. 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 



145 



Length of class periods. — 'The lengths of class periods in com- 
mercial subjects have been compiled and are presented in Table 

TABLE XCVII 

Length of Courses in Commercial Subjects 





Number of Schools Reporting Various Lengths 


Subjects 


Less than 
i Year 


i Year 


I Year 


li Years 


2 Years 


3 Years 


4 Years 


Total 
Replying 


Commercial 
arithmetic. . . . 


2 

I 
I 


22 
9 
7 

4 

2 

I 


29 

9 
6 

10 
27 
18 
iSt 

7 

S 

7 

I 
I 
I 










S3 
23 
14 


Penmanship. . . . 




4 






Spelling 






Penmanship and 
spelling 










14. 


Bookkeeping .... 
Shorthand 


I 


9 

5 
5 

I 


24 

34 

34 

2 


3 


I 

2 


68 
62 


Typewriting. . . . 




S6 
28 


Business English. 




i8 
44 

38 

6 

4 
4 


Commercial law. 


I 
I 






SO 
46 


Commercial 
geography. . . . 










Commercial 
history 










7 


Salesmanship. . . 












5 
6 


Office practice. . 


I 























* One reports 2 J years. f One reports ij years. 

XCVIII, which shows the number of schools following each of the 
various practices. In explanation of the time-lengths placed at 
the head of the columns it may be said that "40-45" almost 
always means 40- or 45-minute periods; 50 and 55, usually 50; 
and 80 and 85, usually 80. The table shows that the most com- 
mon practice in all subjects listed is the 40- or 45-minute period. A 
number of additional schools report 50, 55, 60, and 65 minutes. 
Only in bookkeeping, shorthand, and typewriting do longer periods 
become at all common; and in the subject first named the prac- 
tice of longer periods is fairly as common as that of the shorter 
periods. 

The reader may be inchned to raise the question whether the 
shorter periods in the three subjects last named do not appear 
more frequently in the longer offerings and the longer periods in 
the shorter offerings. The fact that the long periods appear with 
approximately equal frequency in both long and short courses may 



146 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

be illustrated by the following citation from the facts concerning 
time allotment in bookkeeping: 15 of the 24 schools reporting 

TABLE xcvrn 

Length in MiNirrES of Class Periods for Commercial Subjects 



Subjects 



Number of Schools Reporting 



Les3 
than 40 
Minutes 



40-4S 
Minutes 



SO and 

55 
Minutes 



60 and 

6s 
Minutes 



70 
Minutes 



80 and 

85 
Minutes 



go 
Minutes 



100 and 

X30 

Minutes 



Total 
Making 
Usable 
Replies 



Commercial 

arithmetic. . 
Pemnanship. . 
Spelling.. .... 

Penmanship and 

spelling. . . . 
Bookkeeping . 
Shorthand. . . 
Typewriting. . 
Business English 
Commercial 

law 

Commercial 

geography.. 
Commercial 

history 

Salesmanship . 
Office practice 



I' 
3t 



47 

19 

9 

12 
26 
48 
34 
19 

42 
38 

6 
3 
3 



19 

5 
5 
3 



14 



S3 
22 

14 

14 
68 
62 

57 
28 

5° 
46 

7 
S 
6 



* 25 minutes. 



t Two report is minutes, and the other, 30 minutes. 



two-year offerings in this subject and ii of the 27 reporting 
offerings extending through but a single year report periods 80, 85, 
or 90 minutes in length. 



m. ORGAIOZATION A^fD CONTENT OF COURSES 
COMMERCIAL ARITHMETIC 

The main topics reported for courses in commercial arithmetic 
are listed in Table XCEK in the order of their frequency of appear- 
ance. It will be seen that percentage and its applications, frac- 
tions, and the fimdamental operations are the most constant 
constituents of the work. Among the applications of percentage 
to which attention is given, interest is mentioned by 37 teachers, 
commercial discounts by 23, bank discounts by 14, stocks and bonds 
by 12, commission and brokerage by 12, profit and loss by 11, 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 147 

taxes by 9, insurance by 8, and savings banks, building and loan 
associations, investments and dividends, and partial pa>Tnents by 
I to 5 each. Among the additional main topics reported once 
or twice each are: storage, commercial paper, cash and ledger 
balances, invoices, graphs, etc. 

TABLE XCIX 
Main Topics in Commercial ARixHMEnc 

_ . Number of Teachers 

Topic Reporting 

Percentage and its appKcations 53 

Fractions 42 

Fundamental operations 39 

Denominate numbers 18 

Practical measurements 17 

Bills and accounts 15 

Short methods 13 

Partnership ix 

Aliquot parts 10 

Rapid calailation 7 

Mensxiration 7 

Equation of accounts 6 

Ratio and proportion 6 

Methods for proving work 4 

Marking goods 3 

Total number of schools reporting courses 68 

A few teachers without listing the main topics frankly state 
that they "follow the text." A comparison of the topics reported 
in a random sampling of other responses with the texts named 
indicates that most of these also very largely follow the text. 

PENMANSmP 

With few exceptions the systems of penmanship reported by 
the schools are the "muscular" or "arm-movement" systems, a 
small number of teachers reporting that they teach their own modi- 
fications of these systems. 

SPELLING 

When spelling is taught as a formal subject, the source of 
word-lists for study, with very few exceptions, is commercial 



148 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

spelling-books. Two teachers report lists of w6rds commonly 
misspelled in business. 

BOOKKEEPING 

The main topics reported for the elementary courses in book- 
keeping are listed in Table C in the order of their frequency of 

TABLE C 

Main Topics in Elementary Courses in 
Bookkeeping 

Number of Teacheis 
Topics Reporting 

Journalizing 42 

Ledger and ledger posting 36 

Financial statement 36 

Classification of debit and credit items 32 

Business papers and forms 26 

Cash book or account 25 

Salesbook 23 

Closing entries 15 

Trial balance 15 

Purchase book 14 

Loss and gain statement 8 

Not making usable replies 9 

Total number of schools reporting courses 69 

appearance. The more constant topics are seen to be journalizing, 
ledger work, financial statements, classification of debit and credit 
items, business papers and forms, cash book or account, and 
salesbook. Additional topics reported by i to 5 teachers each are 
notes book, invoice book, and other special books and accounts, 
checks and proofs, changing from single to double entry, penman- 
ship, retail business, wholesale business, jobbing business, labor- 
saving devices, etc. Thirteen teachers report "accuracy," and 11, 
"neatness." 

The main topics reported for the advanced courses in book- 
keeping are listed in Table CI in the order of their frequency of 
appearance. Those appearing more commonly are seen to be 
specialized columns and specialized books, specialized business, 
more advanced statements, and controlling accounts. The lines 
of specialized business in which work is reported are corporations 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 149 

(11 schools), factory (9 schools), retailing (9 schools), wholesaling 
(8 schools), banking (7 schools), commission (6 schools), jobbing 
(2 schools), railroad (i school), and real estate (i school). Topics 
other than those listed in the table reported by i to 4 teachers each 

TABLE CI 
Main Topics in Advanced Courses m Bookkeeping 

Number of Teachers 
Topics Reporting 

Special columns and special books 30 

Specialized business 12 

More advanced statements 11 

Controlling accounts 11 

Classification of accounts 7 

Accounting 7 

Voucher system 5 

Changing from proprietor to partnership 5 

Not making usable replies 5 

Total nimaber of schools reporting advanced 
courses 42 ' 

are notes and drafts, single entry, auditing, discounting, separation 
of property investment from property expense, filing devices, time- 
saving devices, shipping, card and loose-leaf ledgers, business papers 
and forms, difficult journalizing, pay-rolls, etc. 

A comparison of the more constant subdivisions of elementary 
and advanced courses brings out the fact that the essential differ- 
ence seems to be the introduction into the latter of more books 
("special columns and special books") and of work in special 
business, with as much accounting as a high-school student may 
be expected to be capable of handling. 

TYPEWRITING 

It needs only to be pointed out here that all schools reporting 
typewriting in their commercial curricula signify that the "touch" 
system is required. 

BUSINESS ENGLISH 

Table CII presents in the order of their frequency of appear- 
ance the main topics reported by the teachers as constituents 



I50 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

of their courses in business English. The subdivisions more 
commonly appearing are: grammar review, letter- writing, business 
correspondence, punctuation, advertising, and oral composition. 
It will be seen that several of these are not mutually exclusive. 

TABLE CII 
Main Topics in Business English 

Number of Teachers 
Topics Reporting 

Grammar review 17 

Letter-writing 15 

Business correspondence 14 

Punctuation 10 

Advertising 8 

Oral practice or composition 7 

Written composition 5 

Spelling 4 

Not making usable replies S 

Total number of schools reporting courses in 
the subject 37 

Among the additional commercial topics reported once or twice 
each are: salesmanship, banking, business practice, telegrams, 
telephone, enlargement of business vocabulary, business forms, and 
filing of business correspondence. 

commercial law 

The main topics of the courses in commercial law in the order 
of their frequency of appearance are listed in Table CIII. The 
first 9 topics in the list, viz., contracts, negotiable instruments, 
agency, bailment, partnership, corporations, personal property, 
real property, and insurance, appear more frequently than others. 
Among other topics reported once or twice each are securities, 
leases, master and servant, joint stock company, estates, patents, 
copyrights, trademarks, and common carriers. 

commercial geography 

The proportion of the total time of the courses allotted to the 
study of the United States in courses in commercial geography 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 151 

ranges from one-fifth to seven-ninths. In 30 of the 39 schools mak- 
ing responses that can be tabulated this proportion is included 
within the limits one-half and one-fourth. 

TABLE cm 
Main Topics in Commercial Law 

Number of Teachers 
Topics Reporting 

Contracts 42 

Negotiable instruments 36 

Agency 35 

Bailment 3^ 

Partnership 31 

Corporations 29 

Personal property 28 

Real property 27 

Insurance 21 

Court jurisdiction and procedure 7 

Pleading and practice 4 

Guaranty 4 

Credits and loans 4 

Not making usable replies 7 

Total number of schools reportiag this course . . 57 



IV. METHODS 

EFFORTS TO GIVE STUDENTS ACTUAL BUSINESS EXPERIENCE 

Reports from 28 of the 74 schools making answer to the inquiry 
in commercial subjects do not respond to the question as to what 
efforts are being made to give the students actual business practice 
and experience. Thirteen report that work is being done for some 
part of the school system; either in the offices of the principal or 
superintendent, or for teachers, supervisors, etc. Four report 
that students are ''loaned" occasionally to outside business 
offices, while 3 others state that work is brought in by business men 
of the community. The most striking efforts are made by 5 
teachers, who report part-time employment for a great many 
students in the last year of the course, either during the entire year 
or during the last term or semester. The report from one school is 
sufficiently interesting to be quoted in full: "Advanced pupils 



152 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

work in offices afternoons and Saturdays. Receive credit. Paid 
$1 to $6 per week. Usually stay after graduation as full-time 
employees." Two mention bookkeeping in connection with the 
high-school lunch counter and cafeteria. Most of the remaining 
responses refer to efforts to make the classroom work more prac- 
tical by the introduction of work similar to that done in business 

offices. 

Methods in the Several Subjects 

COMMERCIAL ARITHMETIC 

The fractional part of the total time devoted to commercial 
arithmetic that is allotted to drill is reported by 54 teachers. This 
proportion ranges from one-fifteenth to three-fourths. The modal 
practices are one-fourth (14 schools), one-third (8 schools), and 
one-half (15 schools). 

Teachers were asked to report any efforts to make the work 
in commercial arithmetic "touch life and breathe the spirit of 
business." Of the 68 teachers reporting the course, 22 make no 
answer to this question. Twenty-six speak of "practical," "real," 
or "actual" problems. What is meant by these expressions may 
be understood from the explanatory statements of a few teachers 
that their problems are drawn from "data taken from actual 
experience," and from "factories and offices." Unclassifiable 
replies are: "Commercial students manage the financial side of 
high-school cafeteria," "use catalogues of various firms in city 
for bill work ....," "old invoices from wholesale houses used," 
"discipline same as office," "consultation with business men," etc. 

PENMANSmP 

Penmanship is reported as being correlated with spelling in 5 
schools, with bookkeeping in 13, with all written school work in 8, 
and with two to several commercial subjects in various combina- 
tions in 5. 

SPELLING 

In 22 schools not reporting the teaching of spelling as a formal 
subject, either when taught separately or in combination with 
some other subject, as penmanship or business English, it is taught 
incidentally. Furthermore, in 24 of those schools reporting it as a 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 153 

formal subject it is also incidentally taught. A large number of 
those reporting this incidental teaching of spelling say that such 
attention is given in "all" subjects, while others report it in one or 
more of the following: typewriting, shorthand transcriptions, and 
business English. It is evident that the principle of correlation is 
emphatically operative between spelling and other commercial 
subjects. 

SHORTHAND AND TYPEWRITING 

The following opportunities for practical experience in short- 
hand are offered to the students in the high schools from which 
reports have been received : 28 report correspondence for members 
of the faculty or in the offices of the superintendent or principal, 
5 mention part-time employment, 7 speak of letters from outside 
business offices, and 2 require the taking of lectures, sermons, or 
pleas. The situation for typewriting is very much the same as 
for shorthand as to work for the school staff, part-time employment, 
and work for outside business offices. A few teachers each report 
copying material of various sorts, duplicating, use of mimeograph, 
addressing envelopes, filling in blanks, work on the school paper, etc. 

BUSINESS ENGLISH 

Opportimity for practical experience in business English is 
offered in approximately a third of the schools reporting the course. 
This takes the form of various kinds of work for the schools, e.g., 
letters, advertisements, bulletins, circular announcements, and 
invitations. Two reports are quoted: "Each student selects a 
business in which he is interested, studies it, talks with men and 
women engaged in it, and writes a number of letters as though he 
were engaged in the business"; "We secure from the leading 
business men in the city letters which they consider especially 
good and study these in class." 

COMMERCIAL LAW 

Ten teachers report that they make some use of the case 
system in teaching commercial law; 6 make use of the statutes of 
their respective states; 5 report talks by practicing lawyers. 
Among other special methods used by two teachers each are: 



154 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

study of reports on cases; organizing a corporation; holding a 
moot court; drawing up partnership agreements; making out 
leases, deeds, bills of sale, mortgages, etc. 

COMMERCIAL GEOGRAPHY 

Of the 47 teachers reporting the course in commercial geography, 
35 say that they adapt the work to local conditions, 5 say "no," 
and a few report in indefinite terms. 

TABLE CIV 

Number of Teachers Reporting the Use of 
Various Materials, Devices, and Methods 

Materials, Devices, Number of Teachers 

and Methods Reporting 

Map drawing 38 

Curves and diagrams 23 

Collateral readings 38 

Newspapers 37 

Commercial periodicals 28 

Excm"sions 22 

Stereopticon 21 

Pictures 25 

Musevmi 23 

Total number of schools reporting the course ... 47 

Table CIV shows the extent to which certain materials, devices, 
and methods are used in classes in commercial geography. It is to 
be noted that all are in frequent use. 

COMMERCIAL HISTORY 

Similar proportions of teachers of commercial history as of 
commercial geography report the use of the following materials, 
devices, and methods: map-drawing, the making of curves and 
diagrams, collateral readings, pictures, and stereopticons. 

V. AIMS 
GENERAL AIMS 

The following aims were listed in the questionnaire in com- 
mercial subjects, and the teachers were asked to signify their 
assent by checking those that dominate their work: (i) "to give a 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 155 

general preparation for a business career"; (2) "to furnish the 
technique requisite for specific business (clerical) positions"; 
(3) "to give such training as will look toward the students' later 
occupying business positions of responsibility " ; (4) " to train for the 
needs of large business organization and a resulting specialization of 
occupation." The results of the balloting on these aims is repro- 
duced in Table CV. The first aim wins general assent. Less than 

TABLE CV 

Number of Teachers Concurring in the Aims in 

THE Commercial Subjects as Stated in 

THE Questionnaire 

.;_ Number of Teachers 

■'^™ Concurring 

(l) 69 

(2) 34 

(3) 20 

(4) 4 

half the teachers concur in the second aim, and an even smaller 
proportion in the third. As is to be expected in the light of the 
almost universal concurrence in aim (i), aim (4) wins few supporters. 
Those who subscribed to aim (2) were asked to name the occu- 
pations for which the work specifically prepares the student. A 
few others who did not directly signify concurrence in the aim also 
complied with this request. The responses were as follows: 

Bookkeeping 39 schools 

Stenography 31 schools 

General office work S schools 

" Clerical" 4 schools 

Typists 3 schools 

Accounting, civil service, bank work, copying, amanuensis work, 
and preparation for teaching commercial work are each named once 
or twice. 

specific aims 

Only a small proportion of teachers report a quality require- 
ment in penmanship in terms of recently developed scales for the 
measurement of handwriting. Nine teachers say that they use 
the Ayres scale, but only 4 specify the point on the scale that must 



156 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

be attained. Of these, i requires 70 and 3 require 90. Five report 
that they use the Thorndike scale, only 2 naming the point on the 
scale that must be attained, these placing it at 14. 

The speed requirement in penmanship is definitely stated in 
letters per minute by only 7 teachers, their answers ranging from 
20 to "75-90" letters per minute. 

The speed requirement in shorthand ranges from 70 to 150 
words per minute. Modal practices are 80 words (6 schools), 100 
words (29 schools), and 125 words (6 schools). Two schools 
report 60 and 75 words in the first year and 120 and 125 words, 
respectively, in the second year. A few schools report "no definite 
standard" or "no speed requirement." 

The standard of accuracy in shorthand ranges from 75 to 100 
per cent. The more common practices are 85 per cent (5 schools), 
90 per cent (12 schools), 95 per cent (9 schools). Of the total of 
40 who give answers that may be stated in percentages, 15 are 
found in the limits 95-100 per cent. Some teachers report in 
such indefinite terms as "nearly perfect," or "credit given on a 
passing mark as in other subjects." 

The speed requirement in typewriting ranges from 25 to 80 
words per minute. The more common practices are 35 words 
per minute (4 schools), 40 words per minute (22 schools), 50 words 
per minute (6 schools), and 60 words per minute (4 schools). 

The standard of accuracy in typewriting ranges from 65 to 100 
per cent. The more common practices are 80 per cent (4 schools), 
90 per cent (5 schools), 95 per cent (5 schools), and 100 per cent or 
"perfect" (11 schools). Twenty of a total of 36 schools making 
answers that may be compared set up standards of from 95 to 
100 per cent. 

VI. SUMMARY 

1. The subjects more commonly appearing in commercial 
curricula are commercial arithmetic, penmanship, spelling, book- 
keeping, shorthand, typewriting, commercial law, and commercial 
geography. 

2. Commercial arithmetic, penmanship, and spelling are 
recommended by practice for the earlier years of the high school, 
bookkeeping for the middle years, and shorthand, typewriting, 



THE VOCATIONAL SUBJECTS 157 

commercial law, salesmanship, and office practice for the later 
years. The year-places of business English, commercial geography, 
and commercial history have not been so well established by prac- 
tice. 

3. a) Commercial arithmetic, penmanship, and spelHng, the 
two last-named when taught as separate subjects, are usually either 
half-year or full-year courses. Bookkeeping is usually a one-year 
or a two-year course. Shorthand and typewriting extend more 
commonly through two school years. The remaining subjects are 
more commonly offered as half-year courses. 

h) Class periods in commercial subjects commonly extend 
through 40-60 minutes, except in bookkeeping, shorthand, and 
typewriting, in which, especially in the subject first named, they 
frequently extend through 80 or 90 minutes. 

4. a) The more constant constituents of courses in commercial 
arithmetic are: percentage and its appHcations, fractions, and the 
fundamental operations. 

h) With few exceptions the systems of penmanship taught are 
"muscular" or "arm movement." 

c) Formal instruction in spelling is limited to word-lists drawn 
from spelling texts. 

d) While elementary courses in bookkeeping concern themselves 
more frequently with journal and ledger work, financial statements, 
business papers and forms, and cash and sales books, the main 
content of advanced courses is more often special columns and 
books, specialized business, more advanced statements, and con- 
trolling accounts. 

e) The "touch" system is universally required in typewriting. 
/) Business English is largely concerned with grammar review 

and correspondence. 

g) The main topics in courses in commercial law are contracts, 
negotiable instruments, agency, bailment, partnership, corporations, 
personal and real property, and insurance. 

h) One-half to three-fourths of the total time in courses in 
commercial geography is devoted to the United States. 

5. a) Efforts are being made in a number of schools to give 
students actual business experience. 



158 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

h) Large fractional proportions of the total time, usually one- 
fourth to one-half in commercial arithmetic, are being devoted to 
drill. Many teachers aim to make the work "touch life and 
breathe the spirit of business" by the introduction of "practical" 
or "real" problems. 

c) The principle of correlation is notably operative between 
spelling and other commercial subjects. 

d) Commercial geography is in almost all schools adapted to 
local conditions. Many schools make use of a wide range of 
materials, devices, and methods. 

6. The only aim of the commercial subjects in which almost all 
teachers concur is to give a general preparation for a business 
career. Almost half the teachers agree that the work aims to 
furnish the technique requisite for specific business (clerical) 
positions, these being most frequently reported as bookkeeping and 
stenography. 

7. a) There is no approach to agreement as to quality and 
speed requirements in penmanship. 

h) The modal speed requirement in shorthand is 100 words per 
minute. The modal accuracy requirement is 95-100 per cent. 

c) The modal speed requirement in typewriting is 40 words 
per minute. The modal accuracy requirement is 95-100 per cent. 



CHAPTER VII 

THE FINE ARTS 

A. Art 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY IN ART 

Responses to the inquiry in art were made by 19 teachers in 
schools distributed as follows: 

Number of Teachers 
State Reporting 

Colorado 2 

Illinois 4 

Indiana 3 

Michigan i 

Minnesota 3 

Missouri i 

Nebraska i 

Ohio 3 

Wisconsin i 



Total. 



19 



n. THE OFFERING IN ART 
EXTENT OF THE OFFERING 

Number of year-courses. — The number of year-courses offered 
in art in the schools reporting is presented in Table CVI. The 

TABLE CVI 

Number of Year-Courses Offered in Art 

Number of Number of Schools 

Year-Courses Reporting 

1 5 

2 2 

2| I 

3 I 

4 9 

Not answering i 

Total number of responses to questionnaire. . . 19 

term year-course is here to be understood as signifying a course 
extending through a year without regard to its time allotment per 

159 



i6o ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



week. The length of the school year here reported is never less 
than 36 weeks. The more common practices are seen to be i and 
4 year-courses. The courses in art are, without exception, reported 
as beginning in the first year of the high school. 

It should be noted that in at least 3 of the 5 schools reporting a 
single year-course, students from any year of the high school 
may take the course. This, in the light of the fact that these single 
year-courses are without exception listed in the first year, means 
that students from the later years of the high school are permitted 
to take the work in the same divisions with students from the 
earlier years. 

Total class time per week. — The time allotment per week in art 
is seen in Table CVII to vary between wide extremes. The more 
common practices are seen to be 80-90, 200-225, ^.nd 400-450 
minutes per week, i.e., respectively, two 40- or 45-minute, five 
40- or 45-minute, and five 80- or 90-minute periods per week. 

TABLE CVII 

Ntjmber of Schools Reporting the Various Time Allotments 



Time Allotment in Minutes 
PER Week 



Number of Schools Reporting the Various Time Allotments 



First Year 



Second Year Third Year 



Fourth Year 



20. 

40- 45- 

60- 75. 

80- 90. 

200-225 • 

400-450. 



Total number of schools 
answering 



17 



CREDIT GRANTED FOR THE WORK IN ART 

The amount of credit for work in art accepted toward gradua- 
tion conforms with few exceptions to the extent of the offering, from 
a small fraction of a unit to a maximum of 4 units. The rule in 
granting credit seems in almost all cases to be that which generally 
obtains in laboratory courses: two periods of work for which no 
outside preparation is required are considered the equivalent of a 
single period for which such preparation is required. 



TEE FINE ARTS 



i6i 



CONTENT OF THE COURSES 

Table CVIII shows the extent to which various subdivisions 
of the work in art are reported by teachers as sole or partial 
constituents of their several year-courses. In addition to those 
subdivisions hsted in the table the following are reported once 
each: domestic art, commercial art, lettering, and landscapes in 

TABLE CVIII 

Number of Schools Reporting Various Aspects of the Work in Art as 
Sole or Partial Constituents of the Several Year-Courses 
IN This Subject 





Number of Schools Reporting Various Constituents 


Constituents or Courses 


First Year 


Second Year 


Third Year 


Fourth Year 


Freehand drawing 


lO 

9 

2 

I 
2 

4 


5 
6 

2 
2 


6 

5 

2 

I 
I 
2 


3 


Design 


6 


Color 


3 


Craftswork 


3 


Mechanical drawing 

History of art 


I 


4 


4 






Total number of schools 
answering the ques- 
tion 


17 


n 


lO 


9 







first-year courses; landscapes and pottery in second-year courses; 
color theory, composition, and pottery in third-year courses; and 
jewelry, pottery, and interior decoration in fourth-year courses. 
The proportional number of appearances of certain subdivisions 
in the table seems to be somewhat greater in the later than in the 
earlier year-courses, e.g., design, color, craftswork, and history of 
art, but this tendency is not as manifest as we might expect. 
This is probably due in part to the great diversity in tune allotment 
per week and in part to the fact that there are no well-developed 
sequences in art as there are in older high-school subjects. 



m. ORGANIZATION 

The organization of courses in art has already been in part 
covered in the preceding section. There are, however, two aspects 
of organization that may be discussed briefly at this point — the 



i62 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

extent of dependence upon textbooks and the manner in which 
work in the history of art is introduced. 

DEPENDENCE UPON TEXTBOOKS 

Textbooks do not dominate courses in art as do textbooks in the 
older high-school subjects. Six of the 19 teachers report definitely 
that no text is used. Of the 13 who say they use them, 3 report 
considerable dominance of the courses by them in these terms: 
"a great deal," "two-thirds of the work," "as an outline." The 
remaining 10 teachers use the books with great freedom, as is sug- 
gested by the following responses: "very little," "suggestions 
only," "for reference only." 

mSTORY OF ART 

History of art is introduced in connection with other work in art 
in 14 of the 17 schools making responses to the question on this 
point. The 3 others offer separate courses. 

IV. METHODS 
CO-OPERATION WITH OTHER SUBJECTS AND OTHER SCHOOL ACTIVITIES 

The principle of correlation and co-operation is operative 
between art and other high-school subjects and activities in a large 
proportion of the schools reporting. Teachers of freehand drawing 
co-operate with those of science in 3 schools and with those of 
manual training in i school. Teachers of design co-operate with 
those of household art in 7 schools, with those of manual training in 
4 schools, and with literary societies in 2 schools. Teachers of 
history of art co-operate with those of other history in 2 schools. 
The extent and nature of this correlation and co-operation may be 
illustrated by the following: making posters to aid other courses, 
designing useful household articles and artistic clothing, decoration 
of notebooks for other courses, study of objects with other depart- 
ments, as in zoology, botany, etc. 

CO-OPERATION IN CIVIC AND COMMUNITY PROBLEMS 

Co-operation of the school department of art in civic and 
community problems has hardly made more than a beginning. 
Four schools report that this is being effected only indirectly. 



THE FINE ARTS 163 

and one school each reports the following: making posters for 
"Clean-Up Day," plans for interior decoration carried out in the 
homes, and designs for a factory, clubs, and a commercial associa- 
tion. 

V. AIMS AND RESULTS 
SPECIAL AIMS IN FREEHAND DRAWING AND DESIGN 

The special aims which the teachers report they keep before 
them in freehand drawing are: to give students an additional 
means of expression, 6 teachers; training in observation, 5 teachers; 
training in recognition of beauty, 4 teachers; and technical skill, 
4 teachers. Those in design are: sense of proportion, rhythm, and 
balance in form and color, 7 teachers; practical knowledge of 
design, 6 teachers. Other aims given for design relate to the 
development of the critical and creative faculties, artistic judgment, 
neatness, and observation. 

CONCRETE RESULTS EXPECTED AND INFLUENCES NOTED 

Five teachers state that they expect the training in design 
to result in better taste in house decoration, dress, and civic projects ; 
2, to help create a public demand for general articles of good design; 
and I, to produce better workmen in any line. 

Among the influences of the work in art already noted by 
teachers of this subject are: change in the direction of simpler 
dress, better material, and color harmony, 5 teachers; better com- 
bination of colors, love for good pictures, and better house decora- 
tion, 4 teachers. Other influences reported relate more to general 
appreciation of beauty. 

VI. SUMMARY 

I. a) The more common offerings in art are i and 4 year-courses, 
the latter constituting the offering in approximately half the schools. 

b) The time allotment per week ranges between very wide 
extremes, the more common practices being two or five 40- or 
45-minute periods or five 80- or 90-minute periods. 

c) Credit is usually granted toward graduation for all the work 
offered and on the basis of the usual time rule applying to labora- 
tory work. 



1 64 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

2. There is apparent no marked distinction between the con- 
tent of the earlier and of later high-school courses, although a slight 
tendency appears to constitute the latter with greater proportional 
frequency of work in design, color, craftswork, and history of art. 

3. Textbooks do not dominate courses in art as they do those 
in the older high-school subjects. 

4. History of art is most frequently taught in connection with 
other courses in this subject. 

5. There is a marked tendency in courses in art to correlate 
and co-operate with other subjects and other school activities. 
Co-operation in civic and community problems is not so frequently 
effected. 

6. The more common aims are: (i) in freehand drawing, to give 
students an additional means of expression, to train them in observa- 
tion and in recognition of beauty, and to equip them with technical 
skill ; and (2) in design, to develop a sense of proportion, rhythm, and 
balance in form and color and to give a practical knowledge of design. 

The concrete results expected and the influences observed 

center around better taste in house decoration, dress, pictures, 

and civic projects, as well as a better appreciation of beauty in 

general. 

B. Music 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY 

Responses to the inquiry in music were made by 27 teachers 
in schools distributed as follows: 

Number of Teachers 
State Reporting 

Colorado i 

Illinois 2 

Indiana i 

Iowa 3 

Kansas 3 

Michigan i 

Minnesota 5 

Missouri i 

North Dakota 3 

Ohio 3 

Oklahoma i 

South Dakota i 

Wisconsin 2 

Total 27 



TElE FINE ARTS 165 

II. THE OFFERING 

The offering in music in the high schools responding to this 
inquiry will be treated under four main heads, viz., (i) that of an 
academic character, (2) chorus singing, (3) special organizations, 
and (4) instruction in voice, violin, and piano. Some reference 
will also be made to the practice of granting school credit for work 
with extra-school teachers of music. 

1. ACADEMIC MUSIC 

Academic offerings in music are reported by only 9 of the 
schools from which replies have been received. Of these 9 schools, 
3 report separate courses in harmony of the following extent: 
one, a course extending through two school years with three 45- 
minute recitation periods per week, the remaining 2 offering 
one-year courses, i with two 60-minute and i with three 65-minute 
periods per week. Three schools report separate year-courses in 
the history of music, i with one 45-minute, i with two 60-minute, 
and I with three 65-minute periods per week. The school offering 
the course last named is the same one reporting the year-course 
in harmony with three 65-minute periods per week. One school 
reports a course in musical theory extending through a half-year 
with three 40-minute class periods per week. The school reporting 
the two-year course in harmony offers also a year-course of one 
45-minute period per week in theory and history. One school 
reports a "general course in musical art," consisting of theory, 
harmony, history, and appreciation, extending through a school 
year with five 55-minute periods per week. Another school reports 
a course in public-school music extending through a school year 
with two 60-minute periods per week. Still another offers a 
course in "elementary music, history of music, and victrola" 
which extends through a year with two 43-minute periods per 
week. 

2. CHORUS SINGING 

Work in chorus singing is an almost universal offering in the 
programs of study of the 27 schools from which responses to the 
inquiry in music have been received, as it is reported in 25 schools. 
This work is sometimes given the name " chorus singing and musical 



i66 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

appreciation." In 13 schools it extends through all four years of 
the high school, in 2 through two years, and in 4 through a single 
year. The answers of the remaining 6 schools do not signify the 
extent in years of chorus singing. 

In 14 of the 25 schools the time allotment per week for this 
work is reported in terms sufficiently definite to be tabulated (see 
Table CIX). It ranges from 40 to 135 minutes. The period 
lengths range from 20 to 65 minutes. The number of periods per 
week is reported as one in 5 schools, two in 3 schools, three in 4 
schools, and five in 2 schools. 

TABLE CIX 

Time Allotment per Week to Chorus Singing 

Minutes Number of Schools 

per Week Reporting 

40 2 

45 2 

60 3 

65 I 

75 I 

80 I 

90 I 

100 I 

125 I 

135 J_ 

Total 14 

3. special organizations 

The following are the special musical organizations reported 
and the number of schools reporting each: 

Girls' glee club 22 schools 

Boys' glee club 20 schools 

Orchestra 20 schools 

Band 7 schools 

Special chorus 4 schools 

Mandolin club 3 schools 

The time given to rehearsal in these organizations may be 
illustrated by the time as reported for those 40 of these organiza- 
tions (11 girls' glee clubs, 10 boys' glee clubs, 12 orchestras, 4 
bands, i mandolin club, and 2 special choruses) for participation 
in whose activities the schools maintaining them grant credit. 



THE FINE ARTS 167 

This time element is presented in Table CX. The usual practices 

are i- and 2-hour sessions. 

TABLE CX 

Rehearsal Time per Week in Special 
Organizations 

Minutes ^'^^^ °H^r.'?°°^' 

per Week Reporting 

40 2 

45.... 4 

55 ' 

60 18 

80 I 

90 ^ 

120 9 

150 ^ 

180 I 

300 ^ 

Indefinite ^ 

Total 40 

4. instruction in voice, violin, and piano 
A single school gives individual instruction in voice, violin, 
and piano. It reports one 60-minute period lesson per week for 
this work. 

CREDIT FOR MUSIC 

The number of units of credit in music accepted for graduation 
from these schools is shown in Table CXI. The total amounts 
range from o to 4 units. 

TABLE CXI 

Number of Units of Credit in Music Accepted 
TOWARD Graduation 

Units of Number of Schook 

Credit Reporting 

None 3 

1 I 

2 

1 5 

2 4 

3 ^ 

4 3 

No answer or answer not usable 10 

Total 27 



i68 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

Immediately following the blank space in which the teachers 
outlined their offerings in music of types (i) and (2) above, was the 
request, "Name any of the courses outlined .... for which 
credit is not granted." It is significant that 19 teachers left the 
space following this request blank; they grant credit for the work 
listed. Two others say definitely that credit is given for all the 
work listed. Five teachers in schools where the offering listed 
is all of type (2) say that no credit is given, and another that so 
much of the offering as is of this type is not credit work. We may 
thus conclude that all courses in music of the academic type and 
most of the courses in chorus singing are accepted toward gradua- 
tion. No inquiry was made into the amount of this credit or 
the proportional relation of the time to the amount of credit 
granted. 

The amount of credit granted for membership in special organi- 
zations and the proportional relation of the amount of time to the 
amount of credit vary greatly. This variation may be illustrated 
by the cases of those 18 schools (see Table CX) which report 60 
minutes of rehearsal time per week for these organizations. In 
those 12 of these schools which make response in terms of units of 
credit, this amount is one-tenth of a unit (i school), one-eighth of a 
unit (i school), one-fourth of a unit (5 schools), and one-half of a 
unit (5 schools). 

Only 4 of the 27 schools grant credit for work with extra- 
school teachers of music. Two others state that the matter of 
granting such credit is under consideration. Only 2 schools state 
the amount of such credit, one accepting i unit and the other 2 
units. The credit is granted for work in voice, piano, and orchestral 
instruments. 

III. AIMS 

The following aims in music were listed in the questionnaire, 
and the teachers were requested to signify, by checking, those in 
which they concur: (i) cultivation of good musical taste and 
desire; (2) development of beautiful tone quality, both in speaking 
and in singing voice; (3) development of fluency in reading 
and writing music (including ear training); (4) cultivation of 
the musical expression of the ideas or feelings of the student; 



TEE FINE ARTS 169 

(5) development of the social aspects through ensemble work. 
Table CXII indicates the general concurrence in these aims. 

TABLE CXII 

Number of Teachers Concurring in the Aims in 
Music as Stated in the Questionnaire 

Number of Teachers 
^jjjj Concurring 

(l) 24 

(2) 23 

(3) ^7 

(4) ^8 

(5) ^ 

Total number of responses to the questionnaire . 27 
IV. SUMMARY 

1. The work in music is of four types: (i) that of an academic 
character, such as harmony, history of music, and theory; (2) chorus 
singing; (3) special organizations, such as glee clubs, orchestras, 
bands, etc.; and (4) individual instruction in voice, violin, and 
piano. Type (i) is offered in a third of the schools, types (2) and (3) 
in nearly all, and type (4) in a single school. 

2. The time allotment for academic courses is usually two or 
three 40- to 65-minute periods per week through the year. For 
chorus singing it ranges from 40 to 135 minutes per week, this 
allotment being distributed in from one to five periods of 20 to 65 
minutes in length. Special organizations very often have one 
i-hour rehearsal period per week, although often they have more 
or less than this. 

3. Credit for work in music up to a total of 4 units is accepted 
toward graduation in a few schools, most schools accepting less 
and a few none. Credit is granted for all work in music of an 
academic character in schools offering it. Most schools allow 
credit for chorus singing. About half grant some credit for mem- 
bership in special musical organizations, although there is no rule 
as to the amount or the proportional relation of the amount of time 
to the amount of credit. A few schools grant credit for work with 
extra-school teachers of music. 

4. There is rather general concurrence in the aims in music 
listed in the blank of inquiry. 



CHAPTER VIII 

PUBLIC SPEAKING 

I. DISTRIBUTION OF THE RESPONSES TO THE INQUIRY IN PUBLIC 

SPEAKING 

Responses to the inquiry in public speaking were received from 
but 7 schools, 4 in Illinois and i each in Indiana, Michigan, and 
Minnesota. 

II. THE OFEERING AND ITS ORGANIZATION 

It must be pointed out, in the first place, that the work in 
public speaking is presented in two different manners — as a part 
of the regular work in English and as a separate subject. In 2 of the 
7 schools making responses to our inquiry the former method is 
exclusively followed, in 4, exclusively the latter, while in the remain- 
ing school it is a part of the work in English in the fi.rst year only, 
with separate work appearing in the remaining years. 

AS A PART OF THE OFFERING IN ENGLISH 

The practice in those schools in which the work in public speak- 
ing is a part of the work in English is to set apart regular periods for 
it. In I of the 3 instances of this practice to be found in the data 
used for this report the teacher devotes one 45-minute period per 
week to "mainly oral composition" during the first year, to "oral 
composition and debate" during the second year, to "oral com- 
position, literary interpretation, some debate," during the third 
year, and to "oral composition, oratory, debate, story-telling," 
during the fourth year. In the second school two 45-minute 
periods are set aside for "reading" during first- and third-year 
EngHsh. In the third school, which follows both practices, one 
45-minute period is given to "expressive reading, vocabulary, pro- 
nunciation, enunciation, voice drill, and oral themes" during the 

170 



PUBLIC SPEAKING 



171 



first year. By this plan the work is of course credited as a part 
of the work in EngHsh. 

AS SEPARATE COURSES 

In the 5 schools reporting separate courses in public speaking 
the offering ranges in amount from the equivalent of three-tenths 
of a year to three and six-tenths full years of work. In the school 
offering the former amount the work is given exclusively in con- 
nection with literary societies in the second, third, and fourth 
years for a single period per week, and for this work the student 
receives one-tenth of a unit of credit each year. The nature of the 
offering in the school reporting three and six-tenths years of work 
may best be shown by the outline of the course given in Table 
CXIII. The offerings in the remaining 3 schools reporting this 

TABLE CXIII 



Course 

Literary interpretation, speech- 
making 

General course in speaking 

Specialized course in speaking (cover- 
ing advanced work in impromptu 
and extempore speaking, debate, 
and parliamentary law) 

Literary interpretation 

Dramatic art 

Advanced interpretation (public pres- 
entation) 

Oral salesmanship 



Year of 
Appearance 



Weeks 



Periods per 
Week 



Length of 
Period 



2 
3, 4 



3, 4 
3, 4 
3, 4 

3, 4 
3, 4 



36 
18 



18 
18 

18 
18 



45 
45 



45 
45 
45 

45 
45 



practice are: one school offers a course in "voice culture, elocution, 
oratory, and dramatic art" in first or second year, with five 48- 
minute class periods per week; the second school offers 2 courses, 
one in "voice and declamation" in the second year and the other in 
"extemporaneous speaking and debate" in the third year, to each 
of which are allotted two 40-minute periods per week; the third 
school reports a course in "declamation, extempore work, dramatic 
art, " open to students in any year and being allotted five 45-minute 
periods each week. 



172 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

III. METHODS 

Correlation of public speaking with other subjects is reported 
as follows : 

English 5 schools 

History 2 schools 

Civics I school 

Business i school 

Art I school 

Physical training i school 

Current events i school 

ACTIVITIES WITH WHICH CLASS WORK IN PUBLIC SPEAKING IS RELATED 

The following are, in the order of their numerical representation, 
the activities with which the teachers relate the class work in public 
speaking: dramatic club, 5 schools; interscholastic oratorical 
contests, 5 schools; interscholastic extempore speaking contests, 
4 schools; Hterary societies (or debating clubs), 4 schools; chapel or 
assembly exercises, 4 schools; special exercises on festival days, 
4 schools; intra-school extempore speaking contests, 3 schools; 
rhetoricals, 3 schools; commencement programs, 3 schools; inter- 
scholastic elocution contests, 3 schools; intra-school debates, 
interscholastic elocution contests, 3 schools; intra-school oratorical 
contests, i school; intra-school elocution contests, i school. 

A few teachers report the use of other methods for offering the 
real audience situation, the most interesting of which is quoted 
here: "We make increasing use of the dozen social centers of the 
city for presentation of debates, of readings, of plays." The others 
mainly concern themselves with making an audience of the class. 

IV. AIMS 

The aims of the work in public speaking vary with the content 
and extent of differentiation of the courses. The following may be 
taken to be fairly representative: for voice culture, "a clear, 
pleasing, and correct speaking and reading voice"; for interpre- 
tation, "to develop a deeper appreciation of, and responsiveness 
to, the best Hterature" and "to develop the power of adequately 
expressing Hterary content to others " ; for speech-making," natural, 
direct, forceful, well-organized speaking." 



CHAPTER IX 

SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS 

A perusal of the foregoing chapters on the various subjects 
appearing in high-school programs of study reveals the fact that 
certain administrative aspects recur so frequently as to make them 
essentially constant items of consideration. Among these the 
more important are what we may call the time factor, the problem 
of setting up distinctions between elementary and more advanced 
courses in each of the fields, the function of the textbook in the 
course, the interrelation of the subjects, and the touch of the work 
with life. The present chapter will attempt to bring into juxtaposi- 
tion the facts appearing in the several subjects under each one 
of these recurring aspects and thus permit these facts to suggest 
conclusions or standards of practice for all the subjects under con- 
sideration. In addition, certain incompletenesses of the investi- 
gation for the purpose in hand — the administrative definition of 
units— and certain inadequacies of practice will be pointed out, 
both as to the five general aspects just named and as to other 
administrative aspects more or less special in character which have 
not been selected for extended treatment in this chapter. 

THE TIME FACTOR 

What do the facts of practice in the administration of the 
various high-school subjects point to as a practicable rule or 
standard in the matter of time element ? In the older secondary 
school, with its restricted range of subjects, all of such a char- 
acter that they were universally administered by the method of 
assignment of work for preparation outside the class and of use 
of the class period almost exclusively for hearing the recitation, 
the administration of the time element was a comparatively 
simple problem. The administrator in the modern high school 
faces a problem very much more complicated. He has this extra- 
classroom preparation and intra-classroom recitation type of work 

173 



174 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

to consider, of course, but he has in addition to administer courses 
in which a part of the time is devoted to recitation for which extra- 
classroom preparation is required and a part to laboratory work 
for which no or little such preparation is required; he has some 
courses in which the work is all or essentially all of the laboratory 
type; he may have some for which special time for study or prepara- 
tion under supervision is provided in the daily program ; he may have 
others — at least, this is the practice in several schools — for which 
both the extra-classroom and intra-classroom types of preparation 
are required, and still others of a fractional character such that they 
appear but once or twice or three times a week. By what common 
denominator is the high-school principal to regulate the total time 
of these various courses so that he may be fairly certain that a unit 
in one subject may be the approximate equivalent, for administra- 
tive purposes, of a unit in another? The facts of practice as 
shown in this study indicate such a common denominator : it is the 
extent of the average student's effort in connection with the subject, 
as far as this can be measured by his time investment. 

It was pointed out on page 27 that the time spent in daily extra- 
classroom preparation by students of Latin in the first year is 
modally 40-60 minutes per day and that by the fourth year this 
increases to a modal practice of 60-90 minutes. If in this con- 
nection it is recalled that the usual length of the class period for 
Latin courses is 40 or 45 minutes (see p. 23), it will be seen that 
the approximate total time investment per day of most first-year 
Latin students is 80-105 minutes. For the later years it would 
be as much more as the time reported for preparation is longer than 
that for the first year. If we then in addition agree with the 
current belief that home study is not commonly done as efficiently 
as that under the observation and direction of the teacher — that is, 
that there is some loss of time in the former — we are not far from 
acknowledging that the expenditure of effort on the part of the 
student is for practical purposes the same in those schools in which 
the preparation is all of the extra-classroom type as in the schools 
providing additional 40- or 45-minute periods for classroom study. 
Although the time spent in study by the students was not investi- 
gated for study-subjects other than Latin and Greek, we are prob- 



SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS 175 

ably justified in assuming that the former require approximately 
the same time for preparation and that, therefore, the principle we 
are discovering may be said to apply to all the study-subjects. 

In conformity to this principle would be the practice in those 2 
schools (see p. 46) that report 65-minute periods in elementary 
algebra and plane geometry, 30 minutes of which are devoted to 
supervised study and the remainder to recitation, a part of the 
necessary preparation being made outside the class period. The 
practice probably also obtains in some schools reporting 60-minute 
periods. In this connection it is pertinent to quote a printed rule 
attached to his report made by a teacher reporting from a school in 
which this plan is in operation: "Teachers of subjects not requiring 
laboratory work will devote approximately one-half of the period 
to recitation and the remainder to supervising the study of the 
pupils. These supervised periods do not afford pupils sufficient 
time in which to prepare their advanced lessons, but the time is 
long enough for pupils to acquire — with what help from the teacher 
is necessary — a clear understanding of the advanced assignments 
and methods of solving them, thus making the study at home easier 
and more profitable." 

The longer time needed for the preparation of the assignments 
in Latin courses of the later years of the high school has been 
referred to above. This, if carried over to other exclusively study- 
subjects, is to be interpreted as signifying that, in view of his greater 
maturity, the student in these years should be required to extend 
his effort over a longer period than is the student in the earlier 
years. This will mean that in those relatively very few instances 
in which in these later years provision is made for supervised 
study equal in amount to the usual 40- or 45-minute recitation 
period the work will be of such nature and amount that it will 
usually require more than the supervised study-period for adequate 
preparation. 

The application of this rule of uniform extent of effort through 
approximately one and one-half hours per day to courses in science, 
which are customarily in part laboratory and in part recitation 
(see pp. 62-67) > requires the now generally approved practice of pro- 
viding double periods for the work when it is exclusively laboratory, 



176 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

and effort at least equivalent in extent to this on days which are 
given over to recitation, whether preparation is made outside the 
class period or in time especially set apart for supervised study, as 
will be seen (Table XLV, p. 66) to be the case in several schools. 
A departure from this practice is reported for some of the schools 
offering general science (see p. 67) which may be justified because 
the course is manifestly elementary in character and is accompanied 
by laboratory exercises which are for the most part simple and of 
short duration. This statement should not be interpreted, how- 
ever, to signify that in this or in any other course it is justifiable 
to arrange the work in class and the assignments so that they can 
be accomplished by the average student in less than the total time 
per day which we have pointed out that practice seems to recom- 
mend as a norm. 

In connection with this application of the principle we are 
enunciating, it may be said that, if the custom of alternation of 
recitation and laboratory work on successive days of the school 
week, which gives to the latter two double periods per week, is 
deserving of being regarded as a standard practice, there are 
several schools making less than this provision both in the regular 
sciences (see pp. 64-65) and in agriculture (see pp. 83-84). 

The application of the principle to such lines of work as consist 
wholly or almost wholly of laboratory work, such as manual 
training (see p. 121), mechanical drawing (p. 122), the household 
subjects (p. 131), some commercial subjects (p. 144), and art 
(p. 160), is obvious: (i) the plan of double periods should obtain, 
or (2) if the class time is 40 or 45 minutes per day the amount of 
credit should be half that for study-subjects, i.e., those for which 
extra-classroom preparation is required. 

In accordance with what has been said above with reference 
to the greater extent of effort to be required in the study-subjects 
of students in the later years as compared with that to be required 
of students in the earlier years, it does not seem unreasonable to 
expect of the former in those courses in which class time is devoted 
wholly or almost wholly to laboratory work during an 80- or 90- 
minute period per day some additional effort of an extra-classroom 
type, or, in such courses as consist in part of laboratory and in part 



SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS 177 

of recitation, usually on different days, to require such additional 
effort on the days set apart exclusively for laboratory, or by some 
other adjustment to make up a total investment of time and effort 
as will be approximately equivalent for all courses planned for 
students in the advanced years of the high school. 

The application of this principle of extent of effort as measured 
by time investment to the computation of credit for fractional 
courses appearing, say, once, twice, or three times per week will 
obviously require the use of the rule of proportion after considera- 
tion has first been given to the question whether the subject is of 
such a nature as to require extra-classroom preparation. For in- 
stance, a course in harmony for which extra-classroom preparation 
is required and to which are allotted two 45-minute periods per 
week would be the equivalent of two-fifths of a study-subject 
allotted five 45-minute recitation periods; while a course in chorus 
singing, for which no extra-classroom preparation is required, 
and to which is allotted the same amount of time per week as to 
the course in harmony, would be equivalent to only one-fifth of a 
study-subject allotted five 45-minute recitation periods. 

What has been set up here as a working rule in determining the 
time element in administering the subjects of the high-school 
program of study should, of course, not be interpreted to apply 
uniformly to all students. It has been referred to as the rule 
for the average student. This will imply the need of adjustment 
of such a rule to individual abiHties; while the slower student will 
not be able to accomplish the work in this time allotment, the 
more gifted student can accomplish it in less time. 

While the writer believes that the rule as here applied to the 
time factor in the several kinds of school work is essentially valid, 
he is willing to concede that it is possible that a study of the facts 
of practice as to the amount of outside preparation necessary in 
other high-school study-subjects, such as mathematics, history, 
etc., may not be exactly the same as that which has been found to 
be modal for Latin, and, in so far, the principle may need modi- 
fication. Although the possibility of extensive variation from this 
modal preparation time in Latin is not very great, it would be 
worth the effort to find what it is for other subjects and to discover 



178 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

its bearing on the general application of the principle. In this 
connection the writer also suggests the further investigation of the 
facts of practice as to the relation of the time investment of the 
student to the credit he receives toward graduation for work in 
such subjects as manual training, music, etc., a relation which has 
not been given adequate attention in the present study. A related 
problem is the time investment in and out of class of pupils in 
elementary grades who receive high-school credit for work in 
Latin, German, French, or other subjects, and the proper relation 
of this time investment to the credit granted. 

DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN ELEMENTARY AND ADVANCED WORK 

No statement of the characteristics of unit courses within a 
sequence in any subject can be considered complete and adequate 
until it includes definite recognition of distinctions between work 
of elementary and of advanced character. Two important con- 
siderations call for these distinctions: (i) the capacity that the 
mastery of elementary work in a subject gives the student for 
doing work of advanced character in that subject, and (2) the 
increased capacity because of growing maturity of the student 
irrespective of his acquaintance with the more elementary aspects 
of any subjects. Scrutiny of the facts and interpretations pre- 
sented in the preceding chapters shows that there is some tendency 
to effect such distinctions, but it also shows in several instances a 
sad neglect of this vital administrative feature of course-making. 
It will be worth while to call attention here to such distinctions as 
appear, as well as to call attention to their absence in some more or 
less obvious instances. 

In the ancient languages (pp. 25-26) and mathematics the 
distinction, as everyone knows, is one of content. In Latin, 
for instance, the reading in the second year is Caesar, in the third 
year, Cicero, and in the fourth year, Virgil; and these are generally 
acknowledged to represent a constant progression in difl&culty from 
the material for reading appearing in first-year Latin texts. The 
material for grammar and syntax and for the writing of Latin is 
correspondingly more difficult for each succeeding course in the 
sequence. Advanced algebra and solid geometry by their very 



SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS 179 

names presuppose elementary algebra and plane geometry, respec- 
tively. For modern languages, on account of the nature of the 
investigation in these subjects, we have no facts that indicate such 
a distinction, although they must exist, at least in some part. 

In science the principal distinction seems to be the year or 
years in which the several courses appear (see p. 59), i.e., general 
science and physiography seem by practice to be recommended 
for the first year, the biological sciences for the first or second — 
more commonly the latter — and chemistry and physics for the 
third or fourth year, the latter being in practice more distinctly a 
fourth-year subject than is chemistry. It is probable that the 
inherent difiiculty of the work, including the knowledge of mathe- 
matics necessary for the two sciences last named, has brought 
about the usual practices, although the material presented in 
chapter iv offers no testimony on this point. Physiography is 
frequently taught without laboratory work as a component of the 
course (see p. 64), but no self-respecting administrator would care 
to acknowledge that this is so because of its elementary character 
or because of the early place at which it appears. Certainly the 
presence of laboratory work in a science course should be no clue 
to its elementary or advanced character, especially since valuable 
educational tradition demands its presence in all science courses. 

Practice recommends certain years in which courses in agri- 
culture appear (see p. 82), and this, as in the other courses in 
science, is probably in large part due to the relative inherent diffi- 
culties encountered by students in their mastery of the subject 
or to the need of previous work. The place of the course in general 
agriculture was not investigated. 

Since there is no marked tendency in high schools to require 
that advanced courses in science be preceded by elementary 
courses, some distinction other than that in use in the foreign 
languages and mathematics will need to be set up. In the two 
fields last named, as we have already pointed out, the mastery of 
the elementary courses gives the enlarged capacity necessary for 
doing the work of the advanced courses. In science such a distinc- 
tion will need to be made in terms of the increased capacity of the 
student due to his increasing maturity, to contact with other subjects 



i8o ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

in his course of study, and with little regard to the problem of 
sequence in the field of science itself. There can be no doubt 
that the establishment of such distinctions will come with great 
difficulty. 

In history the almost universally appearing distinction between 
elementary and advanced courses is the chronological sequence 
of topics, the courses succeeding each other as follows (see p. 94) : 
ancient history, mediaeval and modern history, English history, 
and American history and civics. Such a distinction could not, 
however, be considered adequate. A more vital distinction which 
shows a tendency to emerge is the type of use to which the text is 
put, the later courses placing less dependence on it (see pp. 99- 
100), and correspondingly placing more dependence upon col- 
lateral readings (pp. loa-ioi). This distinction could well obtain 
more markedly than it does, not only in the courses in history 
proper, but in the related subjects of civics and economics, as 
does not always appear (see pp. 109 and 115). Further distinctions 
should be found. Since, just as in science, students may elect the 
advanced courses in history without having had the elementary 
courses, so must the distinctions be confined to those recognizing 
only the increased capacity of the student due to maturity and 
to contact with other subjects in his courses of study. 

The distinctions in manual training, including both shopwork 
(p. 119) and mechanical drawing (p. 120), as well as those in home 
economics (p. 128) and household art (p. 129) and to a slight extent 
in art (p. 161), seem to lean toward forming the courses after the 
first, either wholly or partially, of certain advanced differentiated 
subdivisions of the work. In some schools this difference is essen- 
tially absent. No such distinction seems to appear in music or 
public speaking (see chaps, vii-viii). Most of the commercial sub- 
jects (p. 143) seem to have found favorite years in which each is 
taught, owing probably to inherent ease or difficulty of their 
mastery; and there is no doubt that those subjects appearing in 
the earliest years, viz., arithmetic, penmanship, and spelling, are 
desirable prerequisites for some of those appearing more com- 
monly in the later years, such as bookkeeping, shorthand, and 
typewriting. 



SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS i8i 

One practice of which we have illustrations in a few subjects, 
and which might have been found to be common to several other 
subjects had they been investigated for it, merits attention in the 
present discussion — that of permitting students from several years 
of the high school to carry work in the same division. First-year 
Latin may be begun in any year of the high school in 41 of the 105 
schools and in any one of the first three years in 32 more (see p. 24). 
A very large percentage of schools permit students as much as two 
years apart in the high school to begin a modern language in the 
same division, and except in a few schools no additional qualitative 
or quantitative standards of achievement are imposed upon the 
more mature (see p. 37). In many schools all the sciences except- 
ing chemistry and physics, although listed for some special year 
or years, are open to students over a wide range of years, fre- 
quently all four years of the high school (see p. 59). These prac- 
tices give evidence of a tendency to neglect distinctions between 
elementary and advanced courses and, if permitted in several 
subjects, might make it possible for a student in the later years to 
take work largely of Freshman or Sophomore caliber, calling for 
no effort on his part commensurate with his increasing maturity 
and capacity. Students from the later years admitted in courses 
that are by the year for which they are listed designated for stu- 
dents in the earlier years should have imposed upon them higher 
qualitative or quantitative requirements than those imposed 
upon students regularly enrolled. Furthermore, it would not be 
unreasonable for a school to rule that no student is to be permitted 
to elect in his curriculum during his last two years in the high school 
more than a certain fractional part — one-fourth or one-third — of 
distinctly elementary courses. 

It is evident that distinctions between elementary and advanced 
courses in some subjects are in need of discovery and definition, and 
in still others, of reinforcement. 

THE FUNCTION OF TEXTBOOKS 

The evidence contained in the preceding chapters on the use of 
textbooks points in general to their domination of courses. This is 
true of texts in first-year Latin (see p. 25) which constitute the 



i82 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

offering in reading and translation, in grammar and syntax, and in 
the writing of Latin in almost all the schools. Deviations from the 
plans of the texts used in all courses in mathematics (see p. 48) do 
not appear in a very large proportion of cases, and when they do 
appear they are almost always unimportant omissions, additions, or 
shifts of order. Essentially the same is shown to be true of courses 
in science (see p. 67), excepting agriculture, on which we have no 
information. In courses in history (see p. 99) few teachers report 
the use of the text in any other way than (i) as the main body of 
the course with little or no collateral reading or (2) as the basis of 
assignments to be supplemented by collateral readings. The 
same statement is true of texts in civics (see p. 109) and in eco- 
nomics (see p. 115). No information is to be had as to the use 
of texts in manual training, mechanical drawing, home economics, 
and household art, but we are perhaps not incorrect in saying 
that, because of the nature and newness of the subjects, not many 
schools make use of texts in these subjects. Commercial arithmetic 
(see p. 147) is also shown to be largely dominated by the textbooks 
used, but on the relation of the text to other commercial subjects 
the study presents no facts. Art is very patently not so dominated 
(p. 162). Generally speaking, then, as is the textbook so is the 
course. 

Besides being a finding of considerable significance to the school 
administrator, urging upon him and those working with him the 
desirability of exercising great care in the matter of text selection, 
this fact of textbook domination of courses has its bearing upon the 
work of framers of syllabi: unless these syllabi find expression in 
the publication of texts conforming to them, they are not destined 
to be exceedingly influential. 

THE INTERRELATION OF SUBJECTS 

There is considerable evidence, direct and indirect, that teachers 
of most of the subjects investigated for the purposes of this study 
are granting recognition in their modes of handling their work to 
the principles of correlation and co-operation — the interrelation 
of subjects. This evidence appears directly in the facts as to the 
status of the teaching of Latin in the cases of 10 teachers reporting 



SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS 183 

"emphasis on English derivatives" (see Table VI, p. 27). It appears 
for Latin again, although indirectly, in the aims for this subject 
which we quote here from page 28: "a better understanding of 
English word-meanings and the grammatical structure of the English 
language," "a fair knowledge of the history, manners, and customs 
of the Romans and their influence on Western civilization," and 
"a fair knowledge of the mythology of the Greeks and the Romans." 
In a similar way it is reported by teachers of Greek as a special 
device (Table IX, p. 31) and in the following aims: "a better knowl- 
edge of English word-meanings and the grammatical structure of the 
English language," *'a fair knowledge of the history, manners, and 
customs of the Greeks and their influence on Western civilization," 
and "a fair knowledge of the mythology of the Greeks " ; by teachers 
of modern language in these aims: ''knowledge of the history, 
manners, customs, and ideals of the country to which the language 
is native" and '*a better knowledge of the grammatical structure 
of the English language." The only correlation of mathematics 
investigated is that between the two main divisions of the subject, 
algebra and geometry, which is seen (p. 51) to be rather general. 
It is unfortunate that this study failed to make inquiry into the 
correlation of such an important high-school subject with other 
subjects of the programs of study. Correlation is implied in one of 
the main aims in science (see p. 75), "to relate the subject to prob- 
lems of environment, such as those of agriculture, domestic science, 
industry," etc., but more extended inquiry might well have been 
made in this matter for science. There is very positive evidence 
as to its prevalence in the teaching of history in which this practice 
was especially investigated (see pp. 103-4); here it will be seen 
that considerable proportions of teachers correlate history with a 
wide range of subjects, viz., English composition, English literature, 
geography, civics, political economy, Latin, current events, sciences, 
art and architecture, drawing, spelling, and penmanship. It is 
impHed in the close relation of history and civics (see pp. 97 and 108) 
and of economics and history (p. 115). Correlation in home eco- 
nomics (see p. 134) is reported as being effected with botany, 
biology, physiology, hygiene, chemistry, physics, general science, 
geography, history, civics, economics, and English; and in household 



1 84 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

art (see p. 137) with chemistry, home management, art, history, 
Hterature, English, and physiology. In commercial subjects there 
is correlation of penmanship (see p. 152) with spelling, bookkeeping, 
and even with all written school work; and of spelling (see p. 152) 
with several other subjects, commercial and otherwise. Co- 
operation of the teaching of courses in art is reported with science, 
manual training, household art, and history (see p. 162). In public 
speaking there is correlation with English, history, civics, business, 
art, physical training, and current events. The only subjects 
concerning which we have no facts as to correlation or co-operation 
with other subjects of the high-school programs of study are 
agriculture, manual training, and music; and there can be no doubt 
that if the inquiries in these subjects had not been unwittingly so 
framed as to exclude this sort of data the practice would have 
been found to obtain in these as well. 

Although the resume of the facts as to correlation are in general 
encouraging, the fact should not be overlooked that some teachers 
are still not avaiHng themselves of this excellent detail of educa- 
tional method, as may be seen by reference to the pages to which 
the reader's attention has been directed in the preceding para- 
graph. 

THE TOUCH WITH LIFE 

If the touch of subject with subject may be held to be important 
to a functioning education, the touch of a subject at various points 
with life must be considered vastly more so. This will be shown to 
be effected in almost as great a variety of ways as there are subjects 
of study. It is not possible that all the ways in which this contact 
is effected are represented in this study, nor is it necessary that all 
the ways appearing in this study be reviewed here in order to 
indicate that the practice is becoming common. The practice 
represents a distinct contrast to the older education that seems 
almost at times to have selected content merely because this was 
completely isolated from hfe. Such an extreme principle of selec- 
tion was probably never characteristic of any educational process, 
but occasionally seems to have been so to those who are not ready 
to concede to the principle of the pervasive character of the old-time 
education, i.e., formal discipline, the universal vaUdity formerly 



SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS 185 

assigned to it, even though they may be far from ready to cast it 
aside as a principle void of validity. The new tendencies in educa- 
tion seem to point to at least a partial loss of faith on the part of the 
schools and perhaps of the public in the universality of the opera- 
tion of this principle, and a corresponding tendency to make an 
educational offering that is more or less immediately applicable in 
life's relations. 

This need of the touch with life is in the first place recognized 
by the mere presence in high-school programs of the study of 
certain of the subjects with which this monograph deals, viz., 
agriculture, manual training, home economics and household art, 
and the commercial subjects. But these subjects are not merely 
present; they are now generous constituents in many of these pro- 
grams of study. For instance, the modal offerings of differentiated 
courses in agriculture in the schools reporting are three and four 
years (see p. 82); in shopwork, 2, 3, and 4 year-courses (p. 118); 
in mechanical drawing (p. 118), i to 4 year-courses; in the house- 
hold subjects (p. 127), two and four years; and in commercial work 
(p. 142), 7 or 8 subjects. 

Other aspects of these newer subjects than their mere presence 
or their generous extent indicate that they find contact areas with 
life. In agriculture this is shown by the large number of field 
trips (p. 87) and by the range of practical exercises (p. 86), as well 
as by the large proportion of schools recognizing the vocational 
aim (p. 89). In shopwork it is seen in the absence of models as the 
sole type of activity, and the appearance of other types, such as 
practical individual projects, manufacture of commercial products 
in quantity, and the making of community projects (p. 122). In 
line with this tendency is the practice in some schools of granting 
credit for home work in the household subjects (pp. 134 and 137)7 
the practice beginning to appear of requiring the preparation of 
family portions (p. 133) in courses in home economics, and the fact 
that few schools report work on models as the sole t3^e of activity 
(p. 136) in courses in household art. In commercial subjects it is 
recognized by the aims concurred in by the teachers (p. 154), the 
efforts to give students actual business experience (p. 151), the intro- 
duction of "practical" or "real" problems into the courses in 



i86 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 

commercial arithmetic (p. 152), and the emphasis upon local con- 
ditions in commercial geography (p. 154). 

But this practice of bringing school work in touch with life 
concerns also the other subjects of the programs of study. Some 
would see in some schools in the practice of teaching the modern 
languages by the direct method (p. 39) a desire to equip the student 
with a utilizable speaking knowledge of these languages. Most 
certainly would the differentiation of the work in these languages 
along commercial, scientific, and industrial lines to meet future 
vocational needs of students (p. 41) be a case in point. Here would 
be found also those efforts in the teaching of mathematics (p. 53) 
which are addressed to the introduction of "problems of daily life," 
"more concrete work," "more practical problems," "vocational 
problems," etc., in order to meet current criticisms of the teaching 
of the subject and the stressing of the practical aspects as a fre- 
quently recognized aim of the teaching of mathematics (p. 53). 
This contact is effected in science by the almost universal use of 
practical illustrations at some point or other in the development of 
a principle (p. 71), in the rather general recourse to field or "observa- 
tion" trips (p. 72), and the very frequently recognized aim (p. 75), 
"to relate the subject to problems of environment, such as agricul- 
ture, domestic science, industry," etc. It may be seen in history 
in the introduction of periodicals into the collateral readings 
(p. loi), in the correlation effected with current events (p. 103), 
and in the aim that recognizes the need of training for good citizen- 
ship (p. 105). It is most emphatically present in courses in civics 
in the important constituent of community civics (p. 109), in the 
types of materials students are required to use (p. no), in the extent 
to which certain of the special methods and devices are being used 
(p. in), and in the co-operation with local civic, commercial, and 
other bodies and interests (p. 112) making its appearance in some 
schools. In economics it may be found in the tendency to give 
attention to programs of economic reform (p. 115) and in the 
emphasis on local economic problems and conditions (p. 115). In 
the work in art this contact with life is brought about in a few 
schools by co-operation in civic and community problems (p. 162) 
and in the concrete results expected and influences noted (p. 163), 



SOME GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASPECTS 187 

while in public speaking it is to be seen in the efforts to furnish the 
student the "real audience situation" (p. 172). 

It needs to be noted, however, that not all teachers are reporting 
the types of activity that bring the student into wholesome contact 
with hfe's problems. Recourse to the page references given in the 
preceding paragraphs will furnish evidence of the truth of this 
quahfication. In some schools teachers do not introduce "prac- 
tical" problems into the work in mathematics nor field trips into the 
courses in science and agriculture. In some schools there is no 
correlation of history with current events. In most classes in 
civics there is no co-operation with local civic, commercial, and 
other bodies and interests. In a few schools students in courses 
in household art are still occupied exclusively with the making of 
models, while most teachers of commercial subjects offer no actual 
business experience to the students in their classes. Other illus- 
trations of such a failure might be cited, but our aim is merely to 
show that the tendency to bring the student into touch with life 
is not by any means universal. 

CERTAIN ADDITIONAL POINTS OF INCOMPLETENESS OF THE INVESTIGATION 

UPON wmcH ims study is based 

In the current chapter frequent reference has been made to 
more or less important administrative aspects of high-school sub- 
jects which the investigation upon which this study is based has 
failed to touch. There must, of course, be many more. Some of 
these additional inadequacies will here be designated. 

The investigation has neglected to inquire into the extent of 
offering in mathematics and science other than agriculture in each 
school reporting (see chaps, iii and iv). 

Some important questions of method that are deserving of 
investigation are the following: 

In Latin and Greek: 

The actual extent of stress upon English derivatives (p. 27). 

The value of the "direct" as compared with the "grammar-translation" 

method. 
The justification for granting credit ior a single year of Latin (p. 24) or of 
modern language (p. 36). 



i88 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 

In mathematics: 

The actual extent in each school of the use of historical notes (p. 51). 
The actual extent in each school of the use of correlation between algebra 
and geometry (p. 51). 

In science: 

The value of differentiation for boys and girls in recitation or laboratory 
or both (pp. 74-75)- 
In music: 

The methods employed (chap. vii). 

In all subjects excepting mathematics, manual training and mechanical draw- 
ing, and home economics and household art: 
Disposition of the class period to various kinds of activities. 

The larger aspects of content of the several high-school subjects 
— not detailed syllabi — are matters of administrative importance. 
These have been investigated only for Latin (p. 25), Greek (p. 30), 
general science (p. 70), general agriculture (p. 85), home economics 
and household art (pp. 128 and 129), manual training and mechan- 
ical drawing (pp. 119 and 120), and a few of the commercial sub- 
jects (pp. 146 fif.). 

It has already been indicated in chapter i (p. 19) and elsewhere 
that the numbers of responses to the inquiries in Greek, Spanish, 
solid geometry, trigonometry, physiology, and public speaking 
were small. In the cases of some of these at least the number of 
responses does not warrant drawing far-reaching conclusions from 
the facts appearing. Furthermore, no investigation was made of 
the normal-training subjects^ or of physical training. 

^ Since writing this monograph the author has investigated the teacher-training 
departments of nineteen North Central high schools and summarized the findings in 
an article under the title "Teacher-training Departments in North Central High 
Schools," School Review, XXV (April, 191 7), 249-56. 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Administrative aspects, general, 173-88. 

Advanced work, distinctions between ele- 
mentary and, 178-81. 

Agriculture, 81-92; extent of offering in, 
81-82; years of appearance of courses 
in, 82-83 ; time element, 83-85 ; organ- 
ization and content of courses in gen- 
eral agriculture, 85 ; practical exercises, 
86-87; field trips, 87-88; laboratories, 
88; school plot or farm, 88-89; aims, 
89-91; as a vocational subject, 89-91; 
summary, 91-92. 

Aims: in Latin, 27-28; in Greek, 31-32; 
in modern languages, 39-4°; in mathe- 
matics, 53-55; in science, 75-79; in 
agriculture, 89-91; in history, 105-6; 
in civics, 112; in economics, 116; in 
manual training and mechanical draw- 
ing, 125-26; in home economics and 
household art, 138-39; in commercial 
subjects, 154-56; in art, 163; _ in 
music, 168-69; in public speaking, 
172, 

Algebra, elementary and advanced, 
44-57. 

American history, 93-107. 

Ancient history, 93-107. 

Animal husbandry, 81-87. 

Architectural drawing. See Mechanical 
drawing. 

Art, 159-64; extent of the offering, 159- 
60; credit granted for work in art, 160; 
content of courses, 161; organization, 
161-62; dependence upon textbooks, 
162; history of art, 162; co-operation 
with other subjects and other school 
activities, 162; co-operation in civic 
and community problems, 162-63; 
aims and results, 163; summary, 163- 
64. 

Association of Colleges and Preparatory 
Schools of the Middle States and Mary- 
land, 3. 

Association of Colleges and Secondary 
Schools of the Southern States, 3. 

Biology, 58-80; course in, 70. 
Bookkeeping. See Commercial subjects. 
Botany, 58-80. 



Business English. See Commercial sub- 
jects. 

Business experience in commercial sub- 
jects, efforts to give students, 151-52. 

Carnegie Foundation for the Advance- 
ment of Teaching, the, 3; unit defini- 
tion used by, 15-16. 

Chemistry, 58-80. 

Chorus singing. See Music. 

Chronological sequence in courses in his- 
tory, 94-96. 

Civics, 107-13; years in which civics is 
taught, 108; as a separate course or as 
a part of the course in American his- 
tory, 108; time element, 109; pro- 
portions of civic theory and practice 
and of community civics, 109; use of 
textbooks, 109; materials students are 
required to use, iio-ii; special 
methods and devices, in; co-operation 
with local civic, commercial, and other 
bodies, 112; aims, 112; summary, 
112-13. 

Collateral reading: amount of, in courses 
in history, loo-ioi ; kinds of, in courses 
in history, 101-2; modes of testing, 
102-3; for civics, iio-ii; for eco- 
nomics, 116. 

College Entrance Examination Board, 
definition-making by, i. 

Commercial arithmetic. See Commer- 
cial subjects. 

Commercial geography. See Commer- 
cial subjects. 

Commercial history. See Commercial 
subjects. 

Commercial law. See Commercial sub- 
jects. 

Commercial subjects, 141-58; range of 
subjects offered, 142-43; years in 
which commercial subjects are taught , 
143-44; time element, 144-46; organ- 
ization and content of courses, 146-51; 
methovls, 151-54; efforts to give stu- 
dents actual business experience, 151- 
52; aims, 154-56; summary, 156-58. 

Commission on the Reorganization of 
Secondary Education of the National 
Education Association, 2 ff. 



191 



192 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY -SCHOOL UNITS 



Committee of Ten, 2 ff. 

Committee on the Reorganization of the 
Secondary School and the Definition 
of the Unit of the North Central Asso- 
ciation of Colleges and Secondary- 
Schools, the, 1-2. 

Content of courses: in Latin, 25-26; 
in Greek, 30-31; in mathematics as 
determined by textbooks, 48-49; in 
science, 67-72; in general agriculture, 
8s; in American history, 97-99; in 
civics, 109; in economics, 115; in 
manual training and mechanical draw- 
ing, 1 19-21; in home economics and 
household art, 128-31; in commercial 
subjects, 146-51; in art, 161; in 
music, 165-67; in public speaking, 
170-71. 

Co-operation with local, civic, commercial, 
and other bodies, in courses in civics, 
112. 

Correlation: in mathematics, 51-52; in 
history, 103-4; in home economics, 
134; in household art, 137; in art, 162; 
in public speaking, 172; in general, 
182-84. 

Debate. See Public speaking. 

Definition-making: by specialists, 3-6; 
by syllabus, 6-10; without adequate 
regard for facts of practice, 10-12; 
neglecting administrative aspects, 12- 
14; by state standardizing authorities, 
14-15; by methods advocated in this 
monograph, 16-21. 

Disciplinary value: of mathematics, 53- 
56; of science, 76-78. 

Disposition of the class period in mathe- 
matics, 49-50. 

Dramatic art. See Public speaking. 

Drawing: freehand (^ee Art) ; mechanical 
and architectural {see Mechanical 
drawing). 

Economics, 11 3-1 7; years in which 
economics is taught, 1 13-14; time 
element, 114; division of time between 
theory and historical and descriptive 
aspects, 115; programs of economic 
reform, 115; use of textbooks, 115; 
amount of required collateral reading, 
116; local economic problems and 
conditions, 116; aims, 116; summary, 
116-17. 

Elementary and advanced work, dis- 
tinctions between, 178-81. 

Elementary school: Latin in the, 23-24; 
modern languages in the, 35-36. 



English, business. See Commercial sub- 
jects. 

English history, 93-107. 

English not investigated in this study, 18. 

English, public speaking as a part of the 
offering in, 170-71, 

Farm accounts, 81-87. 

Farm (frops, 81-87. 

Farm management, 81-87. 

Farm mechanics, 81-87. 

Field trips: in science, 72-73; in agri- 
culture, 87-88. 

Fine arts, the, 159-67. 

Foreign languages, 22-42; Latin, 22-29; 
Greek, 29-33; modern languages, 33- 
42. 

French, 33-42. 

General science, 58-80; organization of 
the course in, 70. 

Geography, commercial. See Commer- 
cial subjects. 

Geometry, plane and solid, 44-57. 

German, 33-42. 

Government as a part of the course in 
American history and government, 
97-99. 

Harmony. See Music. 

Harvard University, definition-making 
by, 2 ff. 

Historical notes, use of, in mathematics, 
51- 

History, 93-107; extent of offering in, 
94-96; time element, 96-97; organiza- 
tion of course in American history, 
97-99; use of textbooks, 99-100; col- 
lateral reading, 100—103; correlation, 
103-4; methods and devices used to 
secure qualitative results, 104-5; aims, 
105-6; summary, 106-7. 

History, commercial. See Commercial 
subjects. 

History of art, 162. 

Home economics and household art, 127- 
41; extent of offering, 127-28; con- 
tent of courses in home economics, 
128-29; content of courses in house- 
hold art, 129-31; time element, 131; 
methods in home economics, 131-34; 
methods in household art, 135-37; 
aims, 138-39; summary, 140-41. 

Home work, credit for, in home economics 
and household art, 134, 137. 



INDEX 



193 



Horticulture, 81-87. 

Household art . See Home economics and 
household art. 

Incompletenesses of the investigation, 

187-88. 
Interrelation of subjects, the, 182-84. 

Laboratories for agriculture, 88. 

Laboratory activities in home economics 
and household art, 133, 136. 

Laboratory time, in science, 64-65; in 
agriculture, 84-85. 

Latin, 22-29; the offering, 22-25; time 
element, 22-23; in grades of elemen- 
tary schools, 23-24; credit for a single 
year of, 24; when first-year Latin may 
be taken, 24-25; organization of 
courses, 25-26; methods, 26-27; aims, 
27; summary, 27-28. 

Law, commercial. See Commercial sub- 
jects. 

Life, the touch with, 184-87. 

Manual training, 118-27; extent of offer- 
ing in number of year-courses, 118-19; 
years in which courses appear and 
nature of offering, 11 9-21; time ele- 
ment, 121-22; main kinds of activities 
in shopwork, 122-24; disposition of 
class period, 124; aims and purposes, 
125-26; summary, 126-27. 

Mathematics, 43-57; extent of offering, 
44; years in which courses appear, 
44-45; time element, 45-47; require- 
ment in mathematics, 47; organiza- 
tion of courses, 48-49; disposition of 
class period, 49-50; types of method 
found most satisfactory, 50; special 
devices, 50-51; historical notes, 51; 
correlation of algebra and geometry, 
51-52; efforts to meet current criti- 
cisms of high-school mathematics, 52- 
53; aims, 53-55; content ». discipline, 
55-56; summary, 56-57. 

Mechanical drawing, 118-27; extent of 
offering, 118-19; nature of offering, 
120-21; time element, 121-22; dis- 
position of class period, 124; aims, 
125-26; summary, 126-27. . 

Mediaeval and modern history, 93-107. 

Method of this investigation, the, 16-22. 

Methods: in Latin, 26-27; in Greek, 31; 
in modern languages, 39; in mathe- 
matics, 49-53; in science, 71-75; in 
agriculture, 86-89; in history, 99-105; 
in civics, 109-12; in economics, 115- 



16; in manual training, 122-24; in 
home economics and household art, 
131-37; in commercial subjects, 151- 
54; in art, 162-63; in public speaking, 
172. 

Methods of definition-making, 3-21. 

Modern history, 94 (note) . 

Music, 164-69; the offering, 165; 
academic music, 165; chorus singing, 
165-66; special organizations, 166-67; 
instruction in voice, violin, and piano, 
167; credit for music, 167-68; aims, 
168-69; summary, 169. 

National Conference Committee on 
Standards of Colleges and Secondary 
Schools, 15-16. 

New England College Entrance Certifi- 
cate Board, 3. 

Normal training not investigated, 188. 

North Central Association of Colleges 
and Secondary Schools, definition- 
making by, I ff. 

Offering, the: in Latin, 22-25; in Greek, 
30; in modern languages, 33-39; in- 
mathematics, 44-45; in science, 59-61; 
in agriculture, 81-83; in history, 94- 
96; in civics, 108-9; iii economics, 
1 13-14; in manual training and 
mechanical drawing, 118-22; in home 
economics and household art, 127-31; 
in commercial subjects, 142-46; in art, 
159-61; in music, 165-67; in public 
speaking, 170-71. 

Office practice. See Commercial sub- 
jects. 

Oratory. See Public speaking. 

Organization of courses : in Latin, 25-26; 
in Greek, 30-31; in mathematics, 
48-49; in science, 67-71; in general 
agriculture, 85; in American history, 
97-99; in civics, 109; in economics, 
lis; ill manual training and mechani- 
cal drawing, 119-21; in home eco- 
nomics and household art, 127-31; in 
commercial subjects, 146-51; in art, 
161-62; in music, 165-67; in public 
speaking, 170-71. 

Part-time employment in commercial 

work, 151-52. 
Penmanship. See Commercial subjects. 
Physical training not investigated, 188. 
Physics, 58-80. 
Physiography, 58-80. 



194 ADMINISTRATION OF SECONDARY-SCHOOL UNITS 



Physiology: few responses as to, 19; 
facts of practice in, 58-80. 

Public speaking, 170-72; the offering 
and its organization, 170; as part of 
the offering in English, 170-71; as 
separate courses, 171; methods, 172; 
aims, 172. 

Purpose and method of this investiga- 
tion, 1-22. 

Regents of the State of New York, 
definition-making by the, 3 ff. 

Salesmanship. See Commercial subjects. 

Science, 58-92; sciences other than agri- 
culture, 58-80; years in which science 
courses appear, 59-61; time element, 
61-67; deviations from plans of texts 
used, 67-70; organization of course in 
general science, 70; the course in 
biology, 70-71 ; place of practical illus- 
trations, 71-72; relating sciences to 
problems of environment, 72; field 
trips, 72-73; distinctive features, 
73-75; aims and purposes, 75-79; 
summary, 79-80. 

Shopwork. See Manual training and 
mechanical drawing. 

Shorthand. See Commercial subjects. 

Social studies, the, 93-117. 

Soils, 81-87. 

Spanish, 33-42. 

Spelling. See Commercial subjects. 

State standardizing authorities, defini- 
tion-making by, 14-15- 

Subjects investigated for this study, 17- 
18; not investigated, 18, 188. 

Summary: for Latin, 27-29; for Greek, 
32-33; for modern languages, 41-42; 
for mathematics, 56-57; for science, 
79-80; for agriculture, 91-92; for 
history, 106-7; for civics, 11 2-13; for 
economics, 116-17; for manual train- 
ing and mechanical drawing, 126-27; 
for home economics and household art, 
140-41; for commercial subjects, 156- 
58; for art, 163-64; for music, 169. 



Supervised study: in Latin, 23; in 
modern languages, 34; in mathematics, 
46-47; in science, 67; in history, 97; 
in economics, 114; in administration 
of time factor, 173-79. 

Syllabus method of definition-making, 
6-10. 

Textbooks, domination of courses by: in 
first-year Latin, 25 ; in first-year Greek, 
30; in mathematics, 48-49; in science, 
67-70; in history, 99-100; in civics, 
109; in economics, 115-16; in com- 
mercial arithmetic, 147; in spelling, 
147-48; in art, 162; in general, 
181-82. 

Time element: in Latin, 22-23; in Greek, 
30; in modern languages, 33-34; in 
mathematics, 45-47; in science, 61-67; 
in agriculture, 83-85; in history, 96- 
97; in civics, 109; in economics, 114; 
in manual training and mechanical 
drawing, 121-22; in home economics 
and household art, 131; in commercial 
subjects, 144-46; in art, 159-60;^ in 
music, 165-67; in public speaking, 
170-71; in general, 173-78. 

Time factor, the, in general, 173-78. 
Touch with life, the, 184-87. 
Trigonometry, 44-57. 
Typewriting. See Commercial subjects. 

Unit, the Carnegie Foundation, 15-16. 
University of Illinois, definition-making 
by, 3 ff- 

Vocational aim in agriculture, the, 89-91. 

Vocational subjects, the. See Manual 
training and mechanical drawing. 
Home economics and household art, 
and Commercial subjects. 

Yale University, definition-making by, 
3ff- 

Zoology, 58-80. 



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